Obama Rally in Chico, CA

This rally happened two weeks ago and we are having another one this Saturday. About 500 people turned out which is great! I don't know about you but this election campaign is a real "nail biter!"

It all started with a broken

laptop charger... who knew that it would be so hard to find a charger that would fit my laptop! I went to three different stores and bought and returned three chargers that was supposed to fit my Gateway laptop... no charger no laptop! I finally called the company who sold me my laptop and told them my dilema...get this they told me the charger was generic specifically made for my laptop and could only be purchased through them... sounds strange to me BUT today it arrived and I am back in business baby... and isn't that what really matters!

So much has happened these past two weeks... Obama rally in Chico ... my persistent head cold ... my trip to L.A. but it's almost midnight and I am getting sleepy... to be continued...

I Brake For Vintage!

Especially cowgirl style! My heart races when I see a yard sale... I always snoop through the local thrift store, even when I'm on vacation, infact I prefer to shop vintage where ever I go! ... and don't get me started about flea markets! I enjoy shopping online too... I am listed in the Handmade Product Shopping Directory, http://www.dmpmc.net/THMD/ recently they added a new section... The Arizona Vintage Loft and I found a shop who is all about what I like to call TexMex style. If you like vintage cowgirl collectibles and clothing you must stop in Cowgirl Junk www.cowgirljunk.etsy.com/

Kelly, the owner of Cowgirl Junk has been selling on ebay since 1998 and has been selling on

etsy.com since 2006. Her shops original name was Highway to Hell Antiques and Junque.

Kelly started going to yard sales with her Grandmother every Saturday when she was about 7, and as soon as she was old enough to drive she needed a bumper sticker that said "I brake for yard sales, thrift stores and antique stores". She wore vintage clothing in junior high, and still has some vintage clothing she wore in high school! When asked if she considers herself a cowgirl...she replies... " I live and breathe it... I have 5 horses and a tractor!" "I wear boots with formal dresses on the rare occasion I have to go formal. I think it was at the Autry Museum where I read, in the heyday of rodeo and wild west shows there was 1 cowgirl for every 100 cowboys. I became rather obsessed with collecting any and all things those rare women might have used or owned.My own home looks like a cross between a working ranch, lodge, cabin, victorian, gypsy wagon, dude ranch, shabby, cantina and bordello. I even built my own old west town facade around my swim'n hole... complete with jail, blacksmith and saloon!"

If you like western themed collectibles and accessories you must visit this fun shop!

www.cowgirljunk.etsy.com/

Did I ever tell you ?

I was a massage therapist for nearly seven years? During that time I lived in San Francisco...a beautiful city, but living there day to day was quite stressful...even in my line of work. So I started educating myself about alternative medicine, yoga, meditation, and healing stones... at the time I was interested in crystals... even used them in my massage therapy sessions.

When I moved to Chico I unfortunately discontinued my massage work and stopped meditating... ( I plan to get back to that soon) but I still use alternative medicines for when I feel overwhelmed and yes one can feel overwhelmed even in Chico!

The other day I was surfing etsy.com and I discovered an etsy shop who makes healing stone jewelry! The owner and jewelry artist, Caroline Pinkney-Baird comes from a long line of artists and studied art in London and New York. She has been making jewelry for over eighteen years and studying and using alternative therapies for over twenty-two years, while living in Europe, South America, Africa, and the Middle East.

For thousands of years, individual gemstones have been associated with different healing and strengthening properties in the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual realms. Caroline was first inspired to use stones to heal by her study of the traditional healing properties of various gemstones, and by her first-hand observations of their effectiveness in healing both mental and physical conditions in herself, family members, and friends. These healing properties include improving focus and concentration, facilitating decision-making, aiding a positive outlook, promoting creativity, alleviating insomnia, and calming, motivating, and strengthening. Caroline currently works with over sixty different precious and semi-precious stones.

One area Caroline has particular enjoyed working in is making necklaces which can be worn by mamas and other caregivers when they are enjoying the company of babies, toddlers and children. As a mom, Caroline is concerned with the safety of jewelry she wears around her kids, so she has come up with a line of necklaces which are strong enough to withstand the tugs and pulls of a baby or toddler, yet elegant to wear at all times, and which contain no lead crystal or plastic/resin.

But what is this line of jewelry? Caroline refers to it as her "nursing necklaces" collection, but notes that the necklaces are NOT just for nursing. In fact, many customers don’t have little kids or any children at all - they just buy these necklaces for their elegance or healing properties! So what is a Nursing Necklace? For years, mothers around the world have benefitted from using nursing necklaces. At some point your baby's exploration of her world can interfere with nursing. When distraction, biting, pulling and pinching become part of the routine, a good way to distract your baby and focus on nursing is to offer a nursing necklace. A nursing necklace is designed to appeal to your baby's senses - vision, touch, hearing. Wearing a nursing necklace refocuses your baby during feeding time, encouraging her to explore the nursing necklace beads, rather than your hair, your clothing, or anything else near her. You can wear the Nursing Necklace or just hold it and let baby finger it. It's good to have a few so you can rotate and keep things new and exciting. Caroline's Nursing Necklaces are designed to be both tactile and visually-stimulating and help make breastfeeding or bottle-feeding a more pleasurable experience. These necklaces are not just for feeding, use them during diaper changes to keep your little one's hands occupied and out of the diaper. Wear during babywearing to keep your little one from tugging on your hair. The possibilities are endless!

Stones of Healing jewelry is featured in galleries and stores including:

BabyHawk Baby Carriers, California, USA; Bits For Bairns, Scotland; Kissui Baby, California, USA; Kisses 'N' Wishes, England; McKinley Kid, Alaska, USA; Nurtured Family, Texas, USA; Sling Jax, England; Tubac Center for the Arts, Tubac, Arizona, USA; Naturally Nurslings and Nurslings Boutique, Connecticut, USA; Next Generation Diapers, Tucson, Arizona.

You can also stop in her etsy shop www.stonesofhealing.etsy.com/ and her website address is

www.stonesofhealing.com/ Now it's time for me to do some meditating!