My Halloween "Trick or Treat" Giveaway

Let's see, what shall I give you, my pretties? How about this pretty Witch...ahem...Lacecraft book:

This 64 page, hardcover book (8 1/2" X 11") called "Learn Lacecraft" by Audrey Vincente Dean, was published by The Main Street Press in New Jersey; First American Edition, 1987. The winner of this Trick or Treat Giveaway will receive a beautiful, hardcover book entiteled "Learn Witch... (ahem)...Lacecraft" and it will be great for all my crafty friends and followers that are good with their hands. And, if you are not feeling so crafty, just remember that Christmas is not far off, so this would make a thoughtful gift for someone who enjoys making things with lace. I am also including one of my lovely hand rocheted bookmarks with a snowball and a snowflake, one on each end. Here's a picture of it: Learn Lacecraft is the first book to bring together all the know-how for working with lace. Old and new techniques for using lace, on romantic furnishings and clothings, in decorative sewing and embroidery, are here in this book. There are more than 50 projects to make with lace, all with easy-to-follow instructions and diagrams, and many exciting ideas for using lace in crafts and needlework. To give you a better idea of what's inside, look at these pages: On a side note: When ever I think of lace, I remember the play "Arsenic and Old Lace" that I saw years ago at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. The play had Jean Stapleton in it (you will remember her as Edith Bunker in All in the Family) and actress Marion Ross, who is best known for playing Ritchie's mom in Happy Days. So much for nostalgia! Kitty says, to win this Trick or Treat Giveaway, you must do the following (meow): Post a comment here (between now and 10/31 at midnight) to get one chance to win, BUT, and this is IMPORTANT! Be sure your comment starts with the words "Trick or Treat" - or else, no treat! If you follow my blog, you'll get a second chance to win (2)

If you post a link on your blog, linking back to me and my Giveaway here, then you will get a third chance to win (3) Please make sure to leave me a comment indicating hat you have linked back to my blog so that I can go see. This Giveaway will only last for three days, until the end of the day on Saturday, October 31st (Halloween) and then it's over.

The next morning, (if I survive Halloween) I will write out tickets for every name and let Gizzy or Middi pick one so I can post another article, announcing the name of the winner. So, don't be a ghost and not show up for this Giveaway, or rather be a ghost and do show up, since it is Halloween, after all. I really appreciate everyone taking time to write a comment and I always look forward to seeing who has visited me here.

Hope your Halloween holiday is glowing with good fun, good friends and lots of laughter - be it ever so eeeeeerie, deary! he, he, he, heeeeeeeeee, cackle-cackle, screeeeeech!!!

...and the Winners are:

Drumroll, please...

First Place goes to Tina's Ubu, Contestant No. 10. Ubu gets to help his mom pick out $15 worth of items from my shop and I will pay for shipping. Tina, please e-mail me at www.HoneyBeeCrochet@live.com to inform me of your selection(s) and your shipping address. Congratulations to Ubu! Well done! Second Place goes to Marcel's Pitty Pat, Contestant No. 11. Pitty Pat gets to help her mom pick something from my shop in the amount of $10 and I will pay for shipping. Again, please send me an e-mail (or convo on Etsy) with your choice and your mailing address. Congratulations, Pitty Pat. Good job! Third Place goes to Stephanie's Baby cat, Contestant No. 9. Baby can help her mom choose something from my shop in the amount of $10 and I will pay for the shipping. Congratulations, Baby, you stylish kitty, you!

I also would like to offer a Special Mention award, because I feel that this entry is not only unique, but the contestant is very near and dear to my heart, namely Contestant No. 4, the European (or Western) Honeybee, submitted by Jess from The Beneficial Bee. As you can probably tell from the name of my shop, my blog and the items I crochet, I support honeybee research and hope that we can find the cause for CCD before it's too late. Jess, thank you for entering Bee Farmer in my Pet Costume Contest and please feel free to either a) select a gift from my Etsy shop in the amount of $10, but you would pay for the shipping or b) allow me to surprise you with a gift and I will pay for the shipping. Just let me know at your convenience and be sure to leave me your mailing address as well. Thanks again! A lot of people got a big kick out of seeing your bee. Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank every and all contestants for entering and bringing so many smiles to people's faces. I wish I could send you all a gift, but please be assured that your participation has brought so much joy and happiness to a lot of people, so nothing was in vain. You are truly all winners in my book. I appreciate you and the love you have for your pets, because people who love animals are all my heroes. God bless you and thanks again for playing.

Heads Up!

Carve the pumpkin and be sure to hit "done" after you are finished! I'll be having a Halloween Trick or Treat Giveaway, right after I announce the winners of my Pet Costume Contest on Thursday, 10/29/09 through 10/31/09. I hope you can all join the fun! "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." (Shakespeare) He, he, he, heeeeeeeeeee! cackle - cackle, screeeech!!

Have you voted yet?

Just peeking in to remind you - ever so gently - to please, please, PLEASE vote for your favorite pet costume contestant! Remember to ask all your family and friends, colleagues and fellow bloggers to please vote also, because a person can only cast one vote from the same computer...thank you!

...and for those of you that have not voted yet - you know who you are!!!

...don't make me use my stinger! (ouch!)

Voting Poll is now open!

From now through next Wednesday, 10/28/09, we will be voting for our most favorite pet costume contestant. For this purpose, I have installed a Voting Poll on my side bar (to your left.) For your convenience, I have also placed photos of each of our lovely contestants right below the voting poll that links directly to their respective posts by simply clicking on the photo. I hope this helps make the voting process a bit easier for you, since I know you are all very busy people and I truly appreciate your taking the time to vote. Thank you! The first place winner gets to pick $15 from my shop with FREE shipping. I will also offer a small gift for second and third place. Thank you for your vote!

Chestnuts roasting on an ...

... no, not an open fire, but a baking sheet in my oven. How lucky can I get! A couple of dear friends just stopped by and brought me these lovely chestnuts from their trees...just picked and they even removed the stickers for me. I always used to see just one kind of Chestnut tree in Germany. We called them Kastanien. I just learned from one of my readers that there are edible and non-edible ones, called the Horse Chestnut. Below is a photo of the edible chestnuts. They have a spikier shell. The following is a picture of the non-edible Horse Chestnut. Thankfully, my two friends know the difference! Here are the ones I baked in the oven. I criss crossed them on top and they popped open and taste oh, so sweet and good. Warm, kind of chewy and bread like, they go great with a cup of fresh coffee. Hey, I have more. Come on over and I'll share! Did you know that Chestnuts are very healthy and that they are the only nuts allowed on some reducing diets? You can read more here, but this gives you a quick glance of the nutritional value of Chestnuts: Water (g) 48.2 84.8 Protein (g) 3.4 0.2 Fat (g) 0.2 0.1 total Carbohydrate (g) 32.1 14.0 Sugars (g) 3.3 1.0 Energy (kJ) 730 230 Dietary Fibre (g) 14.9 0.1 Calcium (mg) 17.6 7.0 Zinc (mg) 0.4 88 Iron (mg) 0.7 0.3 Sodium (mg) 0.8 1.0 Potassium (mg) 468 110 As you can see, unlike most nuts, they are very low in fat. They also have a lot of potassium and, as all nuts contain protein. All the more reasons to enjoy some "Chestnuts" and if you can roast them on an open fire, then more power to you. Happy eatings!

Pet Costume Contestant No. 12

This is Daisy, who is a nine year old Australian Shepherd/Collie mix. She is Eddie's sister - that's Eddie "The Pirate," who is contestant no. 7 in my Pet Costume Contest. Daisy is all decked out in her lovely accessories crocheted by her mom, Pam, whose shop you can find here here. "Festive Daisy" "Romantic Daisy" This is what Pam tells us about her Daisy: "She is really a one-man dog (my husband)and follows him everywhere. But, she loves the rest of her immediate family, too. If I go outside early in the mornings to weed my flower areas, she loves going with me. And will even get me up at the right time. She (and Eddie) both know the look and sound of our son's car, who comes by for lunch every day from work. She is a little shy around anyone she doesn't know, in that she doesn't allow them to touch her." Pam tells me that some of Daisy's talents are: Little children Herder Mole Hunter and Destroyer Loves to play Frisbee and Excellent in catching it in mid-air! Pam says that "Daisy always slept with us, too, but now she prefers going into our son's former room and having the whole bed to herself to stretch out. So, we refer to that room as Daisy's room now. She doesn't like storms, and always comes back into our bedroom and sleeps right next to the bed if it is storming." Wow, what a talented and smart girl Daisy is. She looks so fetching too, in her beautiful accessories. *Australian Shepherd: If the breed's "workaholic" ethic doesn't grab one's attention, its blue eyes and handsome good looks most assuredly will. However, casual fanciers are religiously discouraged from taking on an Aussie. His strong herding instincts must be utilized or his true talents are wasted. *Collie: Never timid or sullen, the ideal Collie is blessed with an expression that is absolutely distinctive to his breed. The ineffable mysticism and perfection of this expression crystallize the essence of the Collie character. (The Mini-Atlas of Dog Breeds by A. DePrisco and J.B. Johnson)

Blue Skies...smiling at me...

...nothing but blue skies...do I see - Deedl-De-Deeeee ;-) Can you tell I'm a happy camper? We've had a couple of cold days and Gizzy and I have been enjoying our walks extremely well. Maybe because he's from China and I'm from Germany, it's in our nature to prefer the cooler temperatures. All I know is that he skips and prances with new found energy and I can breathe again, being able to take full, deep breaths without hacking and coughing. Hallelujah! Today, I'd like to show you some photos of our walk. I think I got some good ones. Heading out towards the road that leads to lake Irma. ...but not without stopping to investigate. I collected some perfect looking pine cones. The old, dilapidated barn, where Sally, the horse, used to live. I miss her! The meadow where Sally used to graze. If you look closely, you still can see some morning dew on the grass. If this were my lot, I'd have a couple of sheep and some goats in there. Gizzy on his "wagon" (aka my rollator/walker) waiting to be pushed down the hill towards the lake, where he will walk again. Lake Irma in all its splendor! Standing here, I thank God for days like today! What in the world is this Sago Palm doing? Ye ole fishing hole! On the upper left is the fishing deck, but it also has a table and bench so that it would be a perfect spot for a picnic, especially now that it's more bugless. You can go down the steps and over those bridges and into the woods. It's a nature trail that winds around and takes you back where you started from. Gizzy and I have often wandered through there along the little creek. It's kind of muddy down there now because of all the rain we've had this year. Our two new resident ducks come running and squawking, hoping for some food. I don't know how they got there, but they're very tame and beg people for bread. They are so sweet. They go everywhere together. The smaller one's coloring is kind of like Gizzy's. Aren't they just adorable? If it were up to me, the whole world would be vegetarian. This is the half way mark, where Gizzy and I always stop, have some water and he has a biscuit and then I give him a good brushing and sometimes snap some photos - like today! I just love to see the water sparkle as if it were full of little stars. This Dogwood tree was covered with beautiful white blossoms in the spring and is now full of those little red berries. Another bold and bright red berry bush. I don't know what it is, but it sure looks impressive! I love the faithful rose! She seems hardy and blooms in the hot and cold weather. I enjoy the autumn decorations that remind me of the holidays and the promise of Christmas! What a lovely display of color! Look at that! A Bumbleebee collecting nectar and pollen from a blooming bush (I don't know its name.) Look at Ms. Bumblebee's pollen sacks, stuffed full to the brim - she's getting ready for winter alright! A cluster of cheerful lookingImpatience flowers add a splash of color to the landscape. I hope you enjoyed our little walk around the neighborhood.