mother's day hankie banner

so i was going through my grandmother's hankies and tryin' to pick out my least favorites so i could use 'em to make my cousin jo a few halter tops to wear when we venture outdoors to look in neighbor's windows while taking the trendy triplet maltese un-dogs for their stroll.  i'm hoping to replace those ancient tiny tube tops she fancies wearin' when the weather is above 70 degrees. they are way too revealing for someone her age - or ANY age - plus getting those tubes over that big beehive of hers calls for some re-teasin' and another coat of aquanet.

anyway, as i was pressing my grandmother's hankies and tryin' to decide which ones i was willing to sacrifice i realized they'd make a really nice banner - or a bunting if you prefer - that is sure to bring a big smile to even an often grumpy grandmother like the one jo and i had wished we still had.

soooo...i turned a few of our beloved hoarding grandmother's hankies into delightful digital doo dads designed for delivery via download here on my blog - no dollars demanded.

if you'd like to decorate this mother's day or ANY day with a cheerful smile inducing banner of vintage possibly antique foral hankies just hit THIS and you'll end up with a download of some hankies to hang. i've included directions with these digital doo dads but feel free to demand help.

as of may 7th 2026 i am STILL having trouble getting the download to work! after sending your email address and requesting the link, if you can't get it, just hit the contact button up above and let me know - i'll dash this download (and any others you request that are offered and still available here on my blog) to you myself.

i do so hope you are having a lovely day be you a mother or not. i've gotta go make jo's hankie halters now. xoxoxo

art for your neeked eggs

i didn’t mean to neglect my bloggin’ for so very long but somehow i got whipped up into a DIY whirlwind that just about did me in. i’ll have to write about that next. but this time i am here to provide some pretty egg decoratin’ doo dads for you to download.

i believe strongly that the easter bunny shouldn’t deliver neeked eggs into anyone’s basket and have tried to help out by paintin’ eggs every year since i could hold a paint brush in my left hand. my cousin jo did an egg-estimate not long ago and figures i’ve painted over five thousand eggs in my lifetime. this year i’ve been so busy trying to get the doo dad shop back up ’n runnin’ while also attemptin’ to get my flower garden planted that i decided i needed a pause in preparin’ pretty eggs for packs of people... i figured it’d be okay ‘cause nobody would miss one single egg from their collection.

but i was wrong. the last month has seen a passel of emails arrive askin’ why my pretty hand-painted eggs were no place to be purchased. it’s far too late for me to start painting now so after a bit of ponderin’ i came up with a solution to the problem…i prepared lots o’ pretty egg doo dads for you to download and prepare the eggs yourself.

i’m not a pro at instruction givin’ but the process is a piece o’ cake so you’ll have no problem getting a pile of pretty eggs produced just in time to pitch into the waiting baskets.

there are plenty of ways to permanently paste the art onto the eggs but i’m providing the two easiest ways:

• print the downloaded art on temporary tatoo printing paper. you can head over to amazon and have ‘em ship it to you lickety-split or get in the car and head to your neighborhood office supply. stop at the grocery store to get a couple dozen eggs. then follow the instructions that come with the temporary printable tattoos.
• print the downloaded art on regular printer paper in your color inkjet or color laser printer. i prefer to use laser printed art but either will do fine. using a wide paint brush, paint the front and back of the printed sheets with any glue type medium that dries clear (elmers, modge podge, PVA, etc.). once dry, use the smallest scissors you have to cut out the art you want to use. swirl your pointer finger around in the glue medium and then rub onto the back of the cut out art. then with a bit more medium on your pointer, smash the art onto the egg and continue to rub your finger across it until it’s all nice and smooth. that’s just about it! if you’re a really confident egg-er, once your art is dry you can paint a coat of your medium all over your decorated eggs but it’s not necessary.

i included a few personalized eggs in the photo above. it’s really easy to do with a sharpie…they now come in just about every color you could desire. if you are nervous about wreckin’ your finished decorated egg, practice your egg writing on a neeked egg first or lightly sketch the name in pencil before usin’ the sharpie.

i included some black ’n white art for those of you that night not have a color printer. be sure to keep your empty egg carton handy. don’t shove the eggs in the way they came - lay them on the prongs horizontally while drying one side or other.

that’s it! now you can prepare pretty eggs you are proud of and that will be precious to your pals for years to come. as i said, i am not the best instructor so if you need some help don’t hesitate to contact me at mojackson at mac dot com. if you post your finished eggs online send me a link so i can admire them - or just send me some shots and i’ll show them off myself!

okay - back to split my time between the dirt and the computer screen. i’m hopeful to have both chores finished before the easter bunny arrives. i’ll be back shortly so please stop by again soon and often. i’ve really missed you.

you can download the egg doo dads HERE.

lucky charms for you

a batch o' delightful digital lucky charm doo dads is waiting for you to download HERE. 
i'm hopin' they'll bring you good luck all year 'round. if they don't work in that way maybe one of 'em will be just the digital doo dad you need some time down the line. or you could do like jo did when i refused to let her borrow the actual charms - she made some o' those lil' shrinky dinks outta the art. and mini 'erased' the rings and printed 'em all out as stickers. whatever you decide to do with this download of about a dozen doo dads i do so hope you'll be delighted.

xoxoxomo 

bella

there are two rules i've asked mini's daddy to agree to when he's out n' about and the urge to take ownership o' somethin' or other takes over. the first is that he not buy somethin' that we should decide on together (snapping potential purchases with his iPhone has made that one easier to follow) and not to bring home a dog. he's never done either until now.

i know i must've written here at sometime or another over the eight past years about mini's daddy's need to hear a cash register ring at least twice before noon to feel all is well in his world. if i haven't divulged that info i'm sure i've at least mentioned how he seldom returns from even the shortest outing without some sort o' new acquisition. his 'gifts' to me, mini, jo and/or anyone else who happens to be residin' within our home are completely unpredictable. they can be really small and greatly appreciated - like a hershey bar - or really big and hugely bizarre - like the time he n' jo went to pick mini up at school in the pick-up and shortly after delivered her home in a brand new bright red prius (with jo following closely behind in the truck).

seldom are the doo dads my dear husband decides to drag through the door n' drop into our domicile disparaged. most o' the time he exhibits excellent taste. off the top o' my head i can only draft a list o' less than a dozen duds that made me dread his disposition for obtainin' what he deems desirable. and while i still hate the lamp he bought mini at a street fair made outta those plastic 'bright lights' and can't count the times i've pitched out those life sized fish mounted to wood that without warning start moving 'n beltin' out show tunes only to discover them back in position to serenade, i've come to feel the man's penchant for procuring is more of a benefit than a disadvantage. after all, he does happily welcome requests before he departs the house and with even the longest o' lists returns back with everything we actually need.

anyway...about the rule breakin'...he recently went to visit his best friend t.o. and i expected him to return with a bag full o' beautiful wool fabric since that's what a trip in that direction usually brings. instead he walked through the door carrying a wooly weary white dog. before i could demand he take her back where she came from he told me her sad saga.

her name is bella and she's eight years old. she lived all her life with a couple and their daughter but when the parents divorced recently she became homeless 'cause not a one of them wanted the responsibility o' carin' for her. so she was given to a woman who rescued dogs. when the woman had to leave town for a few days she asked t.o. to take care of her. he fell instantly in love with the homeless bella but knew he couldn't keep her 'cause he's single 'n travels constantly. it seems the dog gods were looking down on this homeless canine for the first time in a while 'cause right about the time she was supposed to leave mini's daddy arrived and not only does he have a weakness for shoppin' but also for any child or animal that might not be receiving' what they deserve. knowin' his wonderful wife - me - could care less for shopping' but was of like mind when it came to helping those who couldn't help themselves, he adopted bella into our family on the spot.

our new dog bella has a sweet face that always appears to be asking' if everything is okay and a clumsy sort of way that makes her oh so lovable. and unlike any other member o' my family (this includes men, daughters and cousins as well as canines), she is perfectly trained. the only problem so far is that she is completely devoted to her rescuer. any time he has to leave the house without her she sits by whatever door he departs from and cries until he returns. if we are able to pry her away she continues to stare in the direction from which he disappeared and quietly sobs until he returns. when he does reappear, she rejoices in leaps and loud yelps and refuses to leave his side. this behavior would be annoying if we didn't understand that she's scared to death o' bein' abandoned again.

i don't know the people who gave bella up after eight years so maybe there was a reasonable excuse for abandonin' a family member without any inquiries afterward. i often ponder how they could give her up and not need to know she is okay. disappearin' from her life did some serious damage to the poor lil' thing. until we can make her feel secure in her new home, mini's daddy can't indulge as often in his shoppin' habit since not every establishment allows dogs to accompany the spender. that's okay for now but i'm hopin' by christmas we succeed in makin' bella feel at home so he can get back to professional procurement status.

if you'd think you can use the art surroundin' the shot of my terrific trio you can download it HERE.

christmas doo dads to download

i have been nothing but sick with one ailment after another since i last blogged. while i'm certain it wasn't the bloggin' that sickened me nor was it mini appearin' so slutty or her daddy's attempts to convince me he should have been a comedian, i have no idea what IS causin' this series of maladies to strike me. i swear,if one more round o' coughin', sneezin', scratchin', limpin', nose-blowin', throw-uppin', or etc. etc. attacks me i'm gonna' have a hissy fit...of course that could be the symptom of yet another new flu so i'll just keep hoping this past 24 hours straight o' good heath means i'm on a streak.

i had to pull myself together at least long enough to blog up these delightful digital doo dads designed for december for you, my dear friends, to have delivered via download. i've made some mighty nice wrappin' paper 'n tags from this batch. maybe if i get a bit more energy in me i'll snap some shots of my packaging efforts to show 'n tell.

i wish i had something really powerful to provide during these disturbing days but maybe once you get these doo dads downloaded you'll be distracted for just a bit...even a small byte might help.

you can get 'em here. if you have a problem gettin' 'em let me know. i'm sure hopin' i'll be my zippy self from here on out and therefore here more than not. xoxoxoxoxo

forget-me-not

what better time to finally make it back to the blog after such a very long hiatus than world gratitude day. it's good that i arrived bearin' a special gift i worked up to express that very thing - lotso gratitude to all o' you who have continued to stop on in here, havin' to see the same ol' thing time after time but knowin' i'd return eventually.

i blogged out a long missive o' all the adventures and calamities that have been bestowed upon me - or that i brought upon myself - since i was last here but wouldn't you know - just as i was about to hit the button to push it through the postin' pipeline and out into the worldwidewebisphere, i heard the familiar fanfare that announces my dear cousin jo's return from another evening' out on the town (this time a session stalking' a batch o' TMZ shooters as they steadily stalked stars who stand around nightly on the sidewalks hopin' to be shot then shown on the small screen). it's always the same - the front door slams, then the refrigerator door opens followed by the sound of a pop top pulled...finally there's the stomp up the back stairs in her latest pair of red bottomed shoes (i'm suspicious that many have become red courtesy of red spray paint rather than mr. louboutin). tonight she was sportin'a platform/stiletto combo that added seven additional inches to her god given sixty four. add to that a 10 maybe 12 inch tower o' aquanet powered teased tresses and cousin jo's height for the night topped out around six 'n a half feet. it's always a bit shocking when she arrives so tall but it's somethin' we have always longed to be so it's nice that jo's figured out a way to make it happen whenever she wants if only until her feet start hurting.

anyway, jo showed up and read through the my genuine excuses for remainin' unblogged for such a long stretch and made it quite clear that if i decided to post my prose up as it was you'd think i was either offerin' up a batch o' fictional horror mixed with a tad o' drama and a bit o' comedy or accuse me of asking for a big ol' pity party. since i desire neither i deleted that first attempt and what you are readin' now, still not to jo's likin', is what i ended up with. i'll provide those excuses soon enough but jo's right - doin' so all at one time was a bit much.

besides, jo says things have changed so much since i first started up this window o' words that i should probably not bother unless i'm willin' to do a major overhaul. back in the beginnin' of bloggin' it was much easier - whether you were the writer or the reader. all the blogs looked pretty much the same - you could choose from a handful o' colors and maybe six fonts and get the thing up and runnin'. if you ventured out to do some readin', you could make the rounds and return back to where you started in under an hour. nowadays there's enough reading available - about anything you could think off - to waste away weeks at a time if you were so inclined. and just about every window that appears has things swirling' and blinking' and some stops along the way even provide music to read to.

i'd love to think i could provide some o' that entertainment here but it wont be any time soon..it took me forever just to get a sidebar that stayed in place and buttons that actually took you elsewhere when poked. when the doo dad shop got deleted in the spring i came awful close to lettin' it stay that way. i do hope you noticed i finally got the 'snapshots' up and running. i'll continue to add to it and will get the artwork page going shortly now that i sorta' know what i'm doin'.

thanks again for not given' up me. if you click here you can download that pretty bunch o' forget-me-nots i made for you - a lil token of my appreciation. underneath it i tucked a rare shot o' me - i'm always the snapper and very seldom the snappee. i'm all dressed up 'n doin' one o' the many things i love fillin' my day with - tendin' my garden.

please leave me a few words if you have the time. currently there's a small delay between leaving' a comment and when they appear. those bullies still stop by and rear their ugly heads now and then so for the time bein' i take a look at things first.

it's nice to be back.

favor number three

finally....here's party favor number three. i apologize for takin' such a very long time to get it ready for you to download. i do so wish i could say it was delayed due to days doin' nothin' but dippin' doughnuts in dark drinks while daydreamin' 'bout the most desirable designer dresses bein' delivered to my door without me havin' to drive to any department store....with shoes to match 'em all of course. but i wouldn't dare drone on about deeds that i didn't do.

what i have really been doin' while keepin' you waitin' for a new dab o' doo dads was movin' into my new art studio aka doo dad den. i have always done my desiginin' 'n dilly dallyin' upstairs facin' east. i am now downstairs facin' west. my new den has divided digs - a place for doin' digital doo dads and another for whippin' up the real life doo dads. and now that i do what i do downstairs, i can also easily dance outside durin' the day to dabble in the dirt and what sprouts out of it.

the idea o' movin' downstairs to a place done up just for me sounded dreamy when first discussed and is just that now that it's done...but the actual move dared to do me in. if i had known it would take me three damn weeks to move all those doo dads i hold dear down from up i doubt i would have thought the idea was so delightful. to deliver an idea of the trips i traveled up 'n down 'n down 'n up to accomplish the move, on more than one day my dainty pocket pedometer drummed up digits equallin' over five miles - and i had never even left the house!

as anyone who drops by this blog would guess, all that draggin' things from upstairs to down provided the perfect diagram for a deluxe calamity. as the days dragged on i found myself tyin' to quicken the work by takin down more 'n more with each trip - with tinkerbell ridin' on top o' the pile of whatever i was currently cartin'. i coulda' cared less if i lost all feelin' in my limbs as long as i could get finished. so of course in no time durin' a trip down tink 'n i took a dangerous dive. the items i was carryin' (includin' tink) survived the tumble but i was certain i would never be able to get back up. i summoned a pop tart 'n stayed crumpled in the spot i landed for 'bout an hour 'til i was removed from the scene 'n placed flat 'n outta the way until i could once again move. today is the first day all my body parts seem to be almost workin' again.

i'm all moved in now - thanks to a visit from an adorable six pack packed 15 year old nephew 'n a coupla' hours donated by a coupla' jo's beaus - so party favor number four won't take near as long to appear...in the meantime i hope you'll enjoy number three! you can get it by going here.

the second fifth birthday party favor

the doo dad shop's fifth birthday celebration continues and here is your second party favor....those semi-tacky sugar letters all of us of a certain age saw sittin' smack dab in the middle o' our birthday cakes. i whipped up some fluffy white frostin' for you too!

if you desire to download the second sensational set o' digital doo dad party favors just head on over to my site and you'll find a link on the news page. if you missed the first party favor just request the link when you purchase your next round o' doo dads!

thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes last week...they were each received with great joy!

xoxoxomo

the doo dad shop is turnin' five

it's hard to believe that this summer marks the fifth birthday o' the doo dad shop. you might remember that my digital doo dads became homeless due to the brouhaha that developed after i dared to discuss my disappointment - here on my blog for all to see - that so many designers deemed it okay to design their own doo dads by duplicatin' the original ideas o' more dedicated designers.

while my friend inspired amy and i struggled to get the doo dad shop up 'n runnin' that first summer, i gifted orphan doo dads to all who stopped by.

this summer, to celebrate my five years o' deliverin' delightful doo dads to you via download from the doo dad shop - AND show my appreciation to all o' you who have stood by me through the thick as well as the thin - i thought i'd pass out plenty o'party favors.

if you desire to download the first fabulous favor just head on over to my site and you'll find a link on the news page. if you do up somethin' real nice usin' the party favor doo dads please do let me know so i can show your work off here or add a link. this first party favor will be available 'til june 24th, 2010. if you missed it request the link when you purchase your next round o' doo dads!

xoxoxomo

a mother's day digital doo dad greeting...

i do so hope you had the happiest o' mother's days! i picked these flowers for you but since they can't exactly be enjoyed the way they should be i made all the doo dad doins' surroundin' the photo into a digital download for you....it might be a nice place to plop your mom's photo or even your own. just click here.
xoxoxoxoxmini's mom

valentines for haiti

send me proof of your 2010 red cross donation and i'll send you these beeeeautiful digital vintage valentine doo dads. the red cross website is here and they accept online donations. donating to some other organization this year that does similar work to the red cross will also be honored.

sorry i didn't get back here sooner...the month o' december seemed to just swallow me up. i do so hope peggy (scarf winner) 'n christa (stockin' winner) enjoyed their goodies. i just recently found the flower winner's address and she should be surprised with the package in the next few days. i'll tell you who it was once i hear from her.

to make up for givin' away less pretty things than i planned the month o' december i think i better give more away this month...so check back in tomorrow for pretty thing number four...and if possible, throw a few bucks to the red cross and email me at mojackson at mac dot com to get a link for the beeeautiful valentines.

a new dilemma in the doo dad den

so i am beginnin' to think i am NOT supposed to be on the internet in any way. seems no sooner do i knock one barrier outta the way, somehow another one pops up. i am thinkin' this is a sign the internet gods are sendin' me and i am too hardheaded to hear what they are tryin' to say.

as i may have written here on the ol' blog, in july i experienced a website owner's worst nightmare - or at least the worst as i know it so far....i went to my site via ftp and there was nothin' there - nada....zero....zip. seems someone decided to wipe me out completely. it has taken me from that first minute o' terror 'til now to get things almost back to normal. i still have much to do though so once again on saturday i sat down in my shabby pilot's chair to continue my repair work and low and behold i couldn't access my site...no part of it. i jumped up and fiddled with the airport, said a lil prayer and plopped back down quite sure my site would appear on the screen. but no success. i abandoned the larger screens and fired up the new lap top to see if i had better luck there....but no....my site refused to appear on the brand spankin' new equipment either.

i continued through my actual domain testin' every computer i could find to see if my cyber domain would appear and it failed to do so on any computer in any room. the weird thing was, i could get everyone else's site and discovered everyone else could see mine. i seemed to be the only one with the problem.

for the rest o' the day i tried just bout everything i could think of to get my site to appear for me but nothin' worked. i contacted the weekend help at my web host (they are never any help but i had run outta things to try) and they said there was no problem on their end (this is what they always say). i finally gave up and decided to go to bed. i was certain a new day would bring with it the ability to get to my site.

it didn't. after only a short time i became so frustrated tryin' to figure it out that i finally just reclined on the shabby couch and covered my head. i guess i was really in need of an extended bit o' time away from the screen as next thing i knew it was this morning - and i still can't get to my site. i called my web host - i always have better luck with the weekday workers - and the guy there says it's my internet provider's fault. i called my internet provider and they say it's the web host's fault.

i only wish it was MY fault...then i would have more hope that it could be fixed. i could go back over everything i have done and un-do it.

mini's daddy has now taken over the job o' figurin' out this latest dilemma in the doo dad den. i have my fingers crossed that he'll have better luck than i have figurin' out this newest obstacle that's keepin' me from dishin' out the doo dads i have designed for delivery via downoad.

in the meantime, since so many o' you were more concerned about my fluffy white constant companions than me durin' my long hiatus from bloggin', i thought i'd blog up a picture to let you know that tink and coco are alive and well and as cute as ever. i only wish they were a bit more help sometimes!

yoo hoo...here i am...

where the heck are you mo so many o' you have written and asked....so i decided i better get over here and answer. i didn't mean to let so much time pass since i last came 'round...in fact i have felt a heavy burden each day i have been forced to stay away for one reason or 'nother. i wish i could say i was just too lazy to poke out any words on the keyboard cause i could use big dose o' lazy about now but i fear it's just the opposite...i seem to always have about eight hours more i wanna do each day than i can cram into the twenty-four that are provided.

i have a multitude o' excuses i can provide to explain why the ol' blog here has been showin' you the same words over and over and over again - some quite acceptable and others maybe a bit suspicious - so i better not try to list 'em all out for you at one time. for now i'll just give you the number one cause for my disappearance for so long.

you might recall that my laptop - my preferred tool for peckin' out words as opposed to pictures could only provide me with a portion o' viewin' area since i first took it outta the box. even after many o' trip back to it's place o' origin for repair, it refused to allow me more than two thirds a peep onto the screen and that was only if i had a variety o' different pinchin' accessories hangin' off all sides. it seemed to lose a parcel more pixels each time i fired it up and i found i was spendin' more time tryin' to locate the exact pinchin' spot for success than i actually gettin' to create any words with it. i promise i did attempt to blog out some words on the big screen but every time - before i knew it - i'd have a hunderd or so photoshop windows goin' at once and i'd forget all about the words waitin' to tumble out o' my noggin.

finally a few weeks ago, after spendin' most o' the mornin' tryin' to locate the big industrial sized clamp i knew i had seen somewhere in the garage, jo stuck her head outta her home on wheels - which is parked close enough to the garage that me clankin' my way through the big red tool box had become quite annoyin' to someone who had only recently arrived home from an evenin' out on the town - and made a not so polite suggestion that it was time i pitched the no-screen mac in the pile with those that had come before and get a new one.

i'm not sure why but i had not even pondered the possibility that the answer to the persistent problem o' findin' the proper pinchin' apparatus was to just pitch the pesky computer and get one with a proper mount o' peepin' area. so after bringin' jo a couple o' advil from the big house and apologizin' politely for pryin' away so much o' her post party beauty sleep, i went directly to the doo dad den and ordered up a brand new laptop.

it took a while for me to actually push the button to complete the transaction. i had afterall never purchased a computer myself. in the past they have all been provided by mini's daddy who shops the apple store like some people shop for groceries. i never knew there were so many choices to make and i found myself anguishin' over each one. finally the titillatin' thought o' actually havin' a whole screen starin' back at me and no longer gettin' popped in the face by clothespins flyin' off their pinchin' location was too much for me and i checked every option available and punched my way to checkout success.

i am delighted to have shoved the lemon laptop under the shabby couch and therefore lose my number one excuse for not properly tendin' to my poor neglected blog. for those o' you who have never given up on me, i went out this mornin' and plucked what might be the last round o' roses til maybe february for you. wish i could deliver 'em directly but hopefully this shot will do.

an accidental garden

i have worked really hard not to let the recent mo-bash and idea thievin' effect me but i have an inklin' i have not succeeded. without realizin' it, for the first time since i started designin' doo dads for delivery via download, i have created more real doo dads than those of the digital sort. i do believe that this is because my beloved macs have felt more like enemies than my dear friends. i know it's silly to feel that way....all those cyber bullies doin' the bashin' and the artists that have stolen from me aren't INSIDE the computers...but their behavior has sure jerked away a bit o' the joy that makin' doo dads usually gives me.

while i pondered how to get my digital desire back on track, i started fashionin' a few flowers for fastenin' to my fabric creations. realizin' i had finished quite a pile of 'em, i decided i'd stick 'em around the old mirror hangin' in the doo dad den ( it used to sit on top o' my lil brother's dresser when we were growin' up). as the week wore on i made more and more flowers and continued planting 'em all 'round michael's lookin' glass. it wasn't 'til just a bit ago, when jo arrived at the den door (home from from a sizzlin' session with a sexy surgeon - actually, he only plays one on t.v. from time to time but i'm not sure she understands this) and asked me where the garden came from, that i realized i had accidently created a nice piece o' art.

it's not the best picture - i didn't have enough light and the camera was gettin' confused by the mirror... but i thought i'd plop it up here on the blog just the same in case one o' you might like to create somethin' like it. not only does it look better than in it's original form, i now have a nice place for storin' and pickin' my homemade flowers!

i'm thinkin' i'll feel like gettin' back to makin' the digital type o' doo dads tomorrow...it's hard to keep a doo dad artist down for long! plus i don't think there's any more room left on the old mirror!

cyber bullies

i often get emails from people wantin' to turn their hobbies into businesses of some sort on the world wide web. they always say, 'dear mo, i wanna turn my hobby into business on the world wide web. could you please give me some advice on how to get people to be interested in my__________ (the blank is filled with anything from hats made outta clorex bottles to macrame plant holders that double as a place to poke the t.v. remote).'

while i have accidently turned designin' digital doo dads for delivery via download into a successful enterprise, i admit i am not the right person to help someone else do the same for their own adventure into cyberspace money makin'. if it wasn't for paypal combined with help from my dear friend inspire company amy, i would'a been plum outta luck when my doo dads became homeless a few years ago. plus seein' as how i don't make my livin' off of the doo dads, i tend to do things a lil differently than someone who might need to feed their family or pay the rent off what they ring up in sales from those who travel from cyber shop to cyber shop lookin' for things they can't find out in the real world.

one thing i do tell 'em is that they need to watch out for the groups o' women who hang out in packs known as cyber bullies. this is a mean group o' women and when crossed....even slightly...they'll go to their keyboards in mass and with a mob mentality, tap out the meanest things possible about you. no way can their words be confused with what would be contructive criticism! they don't care whether they know a damn thing about you or your business - fact checkin' is not somethin' they concern their mean ol' selves with. they just get goin' on those keyboards and don't stop until either an alert is sent out that some other poor soul needs a good bashin' or whoever is in charge o' the free-for-all-type-o-forum they are doin' their bashin' in decides the mob has gone a bit too far and closes the bash down.....but of course they don't remove the unkind words - otherwise the mob might turn on THEM. plus, the more posts they have, the more they can charge for advertisin' so it doesn't make good sense for 10 or so bashin' pages to be jerked off their postin' place (except of course if the bashin' has taken place at two peas ....those people there are quite responsible and don't take kindly to their members bashin' someone around and usually pull the mean ol' words from view as soon as they become aware of 'em).

the bashins' that have been held in my honor have been pretty bad. there was one just about a year ago that was quite a whopper. i knew somethin' was up cause once again my mailbox was filled to the brim with people registerin' to become members o' my private sites. i never read the things but my friends and moland neighbors do and from what i understand, the pack o' cyber bullies participatin' reached new heights o' mean.

i did my best to put it outta my mind...this is hard when you know people are sayin' things about you that are untrue or unkind or both....even if you don't know who they are. anyway, i went on puttin' it outta my mind until my mini somehow came upon this vicious ol' thread revolvin' all around her dear mother. i do believe it is the most upset my child has ever been. i'm not sure if she was more upset that such horrible things were bein' said about her beloved mother or the realization that grown women could be so mean. she kept askin' me what these women would do if they discovered one o' their children bashin' a schoolmate on the world wide web....and why would they be settin' such a bad example for them. one woman in particular really bothered her...her mean ol' words were followed by a picture of her kids and somethin' about her son bein' autistic and how people should be kind to each other.

yes - i tell the people who write to me for advice that they need to be aware that things like this can happen to 'em. especially cause they may not be as fortunate as i've been....with the exception o' poor mini discoverin' that grown women can indeed be meaner than the meanest girl in school, my friends and neighbors havin' a hard time sittin' on their hands cause i always ask 'em not to involve themselves in the melee no matter how much they want to defend my honor and me workin' hard not to take it all personally, the cyber bullies comin' out in force against me is always a boon for the doo dad'n business. seems the minute half o' those women hit the button to get their post up and eternally on the screen, they send me an email askin' how they can register.

one thing i know for sure - never ever read any bashin' held in your honor and never ever participate in 'em thinkin' you can get the bullies to look at things differently. they are bullies afterall and you usually can't tell a mean ol' bully anything....just let 'em entertain themselves at your expense....if they had somethin' more productive to do they'd probably be doin' it . you just gotta feel kinda sorry for 'em....i'm sure their moms forgot to teach 'em how to do unto others.....

i do so hope you are not doin' any bashin' or gettin bashed this fine valentine's day and instead are celebratin' with lots o' kissin' and huggin'. i'm attachin' a picture of a recent gatherin' o' the cyber bullies jo took. she attempted to infiltrate one of their meetins' recently but her big hair was recognized right away and she barely got away in one tube topped piece.

it's steve job's fault

...well...for the most part anyway. there were other minor reasons i have been unbloggable for so long but for the most part steve jobs is to blame. see - he has been spendin' way too much time workin' on that ipod thing and tinkerin' with some sort o' televison doo dad when he needs to get back to work on some of his earlier inventions. i tried telephonin' him to discuss the mishaps and mayhem making me mad at most all machines mac most of the month o' march but as you may be musin', it was meaningless motion on my part.

we have plenty o' rooms here on the doo dad property and there's at least one mac in each of em. then in the guest house mini has a mac museum - a room filled with one o' each mac ever made from the very beginnin' - all in workin' order. and of course there's that secret mac graveyard i wrote about here on the blog just about two years ago - the place mini and i hide all the macs we have accidently mortally wounded in one way or another. addin' all those macs up together i would venture to guess we are some o' macs best customers and most frequent buyers - among regular sorta folks. so with all the problems i have had of late i was thinking, if it's hard for me to get mac-satisfied when i have a mac-problem, i wonder how frustrated some one-mac-family might get when encounterin' the same mishaps and mayhem i'm 'bout to mention.

i must explain why even tho i am surrounded by macs i have been unable to blog. for some reason i can only do any readin' and writin' on my personal laptop while sittin' on the shabby couch in the doo dad den. i can do everything else on the other macs but it's on the couch with my own laptop that i am able to whirl in the wonderful web world.

too bad the term wireless was never meant to apply to mac-users who dabble in designs upwards of a whole gig each and who stockpile large quantities o' doo dads in the works and hunderds o' finished sets stored away. all these wires make me nuts. that's not really part o the recent mayhem but that lil white t-shaped thing is. it's supposed to enable the mac-chine to connect to the airport and therefore communicate with the other computers in the family and the whole world wide web. in my opinion, havin' paid for about a dozen or so now, it deserves an award for the dinkiest - and maybe dumbest - designed vital piece o' equipment ever made. it just sort of 'pokes' into the hole. it doesn't really 'screw' in or 'snap' in....just sort of 'sits'. as you can see...my latest batch is unable to 'sit' unassisted anymore. one is clingin' to life with the help of heavy duty tape and the other - out of desperation i hot glued it to it's surroundings.

then there's the power cord. these things cost around 60 or 70 dollars each and i have yet to get my money's worth. no matter how careful i am, in no time the plastic casing breaks open to expose teeny wires that will shock you and your lil dog and shortly after that, the teeny wires break in two and the whole thing has to be replaced. sure - those mac-men will replace it for you if you purchased 'apple care'...but durin' the time you are sending the broken one to em and waitin' for the new one, whatta ya supposed to do? you did as they said to do and put your whole life on the mac-chine and now you can't even get juiced up and into your mac-life. no way mr. mac-steve was around to approve the newest version of power cord - the one that saves your life and mac-chine if you trip on it - cause it's mac-horrible. it's impossible to keep attached and teeny wires were showing and it had to be replaced after only two weeks. i think i preferred trippin'.

my last two issues are more mac-maddenin'. i was quite happy with the laptop i was usin' for readin' and writin' when mini's daddy pitched one o the newest intell versions into the doo dad den. from the moment i turned it on half the screen was full o blinkin and flashin' lines. it was quite frustratin' as up to that point i was used to having access to a whole screen. i was certain the mac-men would replace it if mini's daddy took it back. much to my surprise that was not the case. seems to get the proper assistance mini's daddy had to make an appointment with the store mac-wizard. this person was quite busy and the appointment couldn't take place for quite a few days. when the audience with the wizard was granted, mini's daddy was grilled on the situation and the mac-chine was looked over carefully and notes were made on the couple o lil scratches it contained. it was then sent away for almost two weeks to be fixed. as annoyed as this made me i couldn't help wonder how annoyed i would be if i had scrimped and saved to obtain the thing and then immediately had to give it back and be without it while mr. mac-steve (who by the way has never trained his underlings in the ways o' good customer relations....like tellin' them to at least convey some sympathy for your temporary loss or such) kept my saved and scrimped mac-money. although i was unable to do my readin' or writin' durin' the repairin' time, at least i had more macs i could do other things on. how mac-mad i would be if this wasn't the case.

when mini's daddy picked up the brand new once half-screened mac-chine, he noticed the closure area was slightly damaged. he asked that a notation be made about it but was told this wasn't possible. this made him really mac-mad and after he spent a whole day on the phone, it was made possible. sadly - and madly - in no time, half the screen started actin' up again. just when i was ready to pitch the new machine into the secret graveyard and yank my most recently retired laptop back from jo, mini figured out that if i attached a clothespin to a certain place on the side i could get the whole screen to appear without lines and blinkin'. but right after figurin' that out, i could no longer get the arrow to move or the clicker to click. and the whole thing was so hot if it was any where near my lap i was sweatin' like a pig. i had just bout had it with my fancy intell mac-machine. right before i decided to hurl it out the window i noticed the battery was all swollen and bulgin' and some white gel lookin' stuff appeared ready to ooze out. mini's daddy called to inquire about the bulge and was told it was what you would call an explodin' battery and that this was the first they had heard of the condition occurrin' on one o the new macs. we were instructed to send the battery and it's bulge to them right away and if we would provide a credit card number they would be happy to send me a new one. once they recieved the explodin one they would refund the money.

i now have the new battery - although it woulda been nice if it had arrived with some sort of apology or even one o those apple decals - and as long as i keep the clothespin in the right place, i am now up and runnin' - able to read and write and blog again. i am even gettin' used to the pain o the clothespin flippin' off and smackin' me in the face. i will remain annoyed that it's gotten to the point where the mac-makers can get away with just about anything nowadays. i hafta put up with situations and a lack o' customer service i would never tolerate from any other business. yes...i feel as if there's a macopoly and i have an addiction for mac-chines that could never be filled by that other machine. unfortunately i fear mr. mac-steve knows this about us mac-users and because he does, i may never have the pleasure of bein' greeted with a smilin' cheerful 'hello' or 'welcome' or 'how can i help you' or even the always appreciated 'thank you so much for shopping with us' when visitin' one o his bright white stores or an apology when i am forced to do without my chosen machine thru no fault o' my own. and if mac t.v. is even an iota as successful as the ipod has been - well - i'm sure my addiction for all things mac will be even less appreciated. hopefully along the way mr. mac.steve will at least do somethin about that t-shaped vital piece o equipment .

a big moland thanks to all o you who have inquired as to my whereabouts. i apologize to anyone whose email may have gone unanswered durin' my mac-misadventures. i have once again fallen woefully behind in my duties and am gonna set about tryin' to catch up right away and will do my best to make you forgive me. i'm givin' the intell mac-chine one more chance.

snakes on a plane ala mo

this shot, taken from the space station i am guessin, just came into the monewsisgoodnews news room studio. from what i can make out, looks like one o the planes that just recently took off from here has been taken over by snakes and some woman is at the helm. i'll blog on back over here and let you know if i hear anything else about this or get any more shots in.

mini's sunflower stockin'

i sure appreciate everyone's emails and messages tellin me they understand me not bloggin many words and mostly peeper presents til mini goes back to school! thank you thank you!

so here's today's picture for you to peek at...another o the stockin's i have made for my mini. i made this one the first year we were finally successful at growin our own sunflower (and we were successful with only ONE that year!). it's her favorite flower and up til then we had always had to buy em so this was most excitin to both of us...of course we get excited about anything we are able to grow from a seed.

i think maybe tomorrow i'll plop up some peeks o my favorite container in action! if you vacation in moland year round you already know what it is!

mini and i are gonna spend some time at vrooman's bookstore - the oldest in town. we have been going since she was two and never stay less than two hours walkin up and down each row so we have to go when we know we have time...but before i go i wanted to address one o the comments left yesterday. someone expressed the opinion that what was takin place over at one o those free-for-all-forums in my honor was not a bashin' - just a conversation. while i truly respect their opinion, i gotta say...i think this is one o those things you gotta experience yourself before you can really know. while it may seem like conversin' to those participatin' in the thing, when it's your own name being 'conversed' about in such a way, it feels more like a bash. but...that's the digital scrappin world for ya....they may like everyone to think it's all one big cozy group lookin out for each other but try doin things a bit differently and they'll do whatever they can to do you in. seems it always does the opposite though...moland has dozens o new residents since the thread first got started...so like mini's daddy always says....doesn't matter what they say about you as long as they are sayin somethin....seems to apply for conversin or bashin so i guess in the end it's all hair splittin!

thanks for stoppin by and hope to see you again tomorrow!

happy birthday missy michelle!

the ever so talented michelle of scrapability...scrapbooking royalty...is celebratin her birthday today! please join me and all the citizens of moland in wishin her the very best ever! thanks michelle for makin every day an informed and entertainin day by bloggin us with all the news that's fit to print. haphaphappy day to you!

happy birthday to the garden diva of moland!

today is a very special molandian's birthday...okay...they are all special...it's just that some of em have been around since almost the beginnin and i have gotten to know em a lil more than some of the newer residents. i hope eventually to mark all their celebrations in a big way but i gotta start somewhere and no better place than with tracy last week and...tah dah....madam robin today!

i was gonna try to blog on and on with alot of blah blah blah about this extraordinary person who is celebrating her birthday today....but there was so much to say that i decided i would let her beautiful garden give you a hint as to why a day that includes new art posted by this birthday girl is a good day indeed! if you ever decide to make moland and doo dads a part of your creative doins, you will come to see why all of us there look forward to anything she is willin to share with us...be it her cookin lessons or her green thumbs!

hap hap happy birthday missy robin! i hope it is everything you deserve and more! thank you for helpin to make every day a treat for all your fans!!