Tuesday, October 29, 2013

The "real" Legend of Sleepy Hollow

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow


Welcome to "Sleepy Hollow"!
“From the listless repose of the place, and the peculiar character of its inhabitants, who are descendants from the original Dutch settlers, this sequestered glen has long been known by the name of SLEEPY HOLLOW. . . ”
Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow


Sign at the entrance to Sleepy Hollow Cemetry

One of Icabod Crane’s sources of fearful pleasure was to pass long winter evenings with the old Dutch wives as they sat spinning by the fire, and listen to their marvelous tales of ghosts and goblins, and haunted fields, and haunted brooks, and haunted bridges, and haunted houses, and particularly of the headless horseman, or Galloping Hessian of the Hollow, as they sometimes called him; all the while trying to win the affections of the Lady Abigail Van Tassel.
            

The Old Dutch Church
The Old Dutch Church was one of the favorite haunts of the Headless Horseman, and the place where he was most frequently encountered.  Not far from the church, along the Hudson River was a wooden bridge; the road that led to it, and the bridge itself, were thickly shaded by overhanging trees, which cast a gloom about it, even in the daytime; but occasioned a fearful darkness at night. 


Tombstones dating back to the 1600's

As one strolls past the Old Dutch Church on a dark Halloween night, it is easy to imagine the shadow of the horseman rising up from behind the gravestones, many dating back to the 1600’s.  Armed with a jack-o-lantern, the Horseman gallops along in search of his head;  wherein  lies the history of the Headless Horseman of Sleep Hollow which began over 200 years ago, and his spirit has lived here ever since.
 

The Graves of the Inhabitants of "The Old Dutch Church"

A Halloween View along the Hudson


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Autumn Leaves





Autumn Leaves near Bear Mt along the Hudson
 (photo by pjkbaker)


Like a child, I kick up the fallen Autumn leaves that quietly crackled beneath my feet.  The Summer sun is declining, and a crisp freshness fills the air.  I look all around at Nature’s Beauty, Crimson’s, Gold’s, Orange and Brown colors seem to surround me as the trees changing colors take on an artist’s palette of Fall.  There is no season so radiant in its abundance of colors, as early Autumn.

The memories of my grandfather taking my sister and I apple picking are still so vivid in my mind.  The smells of fresh apples, hot donuts and cider fill the air. A tradition I followed through with my own children.  Going to the Apple Orchards, picking our own apples, then with the Autumn chill upon us, we sip hot cider, and eat the freshly baked hot apple donuts before continuing along our Autumn drive.

Fall’s beauty is like no other than that along the Hudson River in New York.  An example of this feast to our eye’s, is the picture above which I took near Bear Mt along the Hudson.  A perfect day as Fall’s colors of Nature paint an image of light as the Crimson, Gold and Orange Trees reflect into the lake, like an imagine on glass.





Wednesday, April 10, 2013

A Tribute to Tara

Sunday, April 10 will be 5 years since this tragic end to my niece's life.  The pain has started to alleviate - although the memory will always be there.  Tara's three little's are now getting older and understanding more.  Sunday will also be Maya's 10th birthday (Tara's daughter).


Tara (Bridesmaid at her Brother's Wedding)

Tara (holding Kelly) with her brother & Sister; sister (Dustin & Kori) and her NY Cousins


Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there. They may become a best friend, soul mate, lover or spouse; you just know that when you lock eyes with them for that very first time, you know at that very moment that they will affect your life now and in years to come. But then sometimes that sunshine turns towards darkness and life as we expected, begins to change. That one person, who we so willingly turned our lives over to, may not be who we thought them to be.

Unfortunately, as we see those dark clouds entering in our hearts, we bear painful and unfair truths, that will test our strength and our faith. Make everyday count and appreciate those around us, our family, our children, our friends, because you never know when God may take that away. Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance, God tests our faith in so many ways, that we have to be prepared with in our hearts and our souls to take on that strength to forgive and go forward. 


"Live Each Day As If It Were Your Last... Tomorrow is Not Promised.  "Someone once told me that “God will never give us anything we can’t handle.” Perhaps it is through my strong faith and prayer that I can hold that truth.

God certainly put our family to the test, when learned that my niece, Tara; my cousin’s oldest daughter and a mother of three young children, was murdered by her ex-husband of whom she had only been divorced from for a few weeks. As their three young children lie sleeping in their beds, Tara breathed her last breathe at the hands of her ex-husband. A life of such promise and a love that was thought to be forever has dissipated to a life lost; three little one’s left without parents; and a family left in shock and in tears.

“The cloud burst doesn’t last all day” - right now we can’t see through the darkness; but I know that when God allows our faith to take over, we will begin to see that light come shining through. It is at that moment that we know that Tara is once again safe in the “arms of her angel” and smiling down at us, letting us know that we need to continue with our lives “Living Each Day As If It Were Our Last.”

Thank you all for your many kind words, thoughts and prayers, which I have conveyed to my cousin and our family. Please keep Tara and my family in your prayers, as we wait for the sun to rise again.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day
love from
MagdaleneJewels.etsy.com
 


Thursday, January 3, 2013

Tags, Titles and Revelancy!


Titles:

As titles are the most direct way for sellers to explain what they have to offer, we have given them more weight in our search results. This means that, as a first order of business when listing an item, you should make sure you have accurate and descriptive titles for all of the items you list.

Additionally, we look at words at the beginning of your title first (just like your buyers do!) and pay less attention to words toward the end of the title. In practice, you should make sure the first words of your title explain what your item is. For example, your item will be displayed higher in the search results when someone searches for “dress” if you list your item as “Silk Children’s Dress” rather than “Homemade Handpainted Children’s Silk Pink Yellow Dress.” That doesn’t mean it won’t show up at all, but you will see better results if you put the important characteristics of your item at the beginning of your title.

Relevancy: (Most Recent Listings)
Even when viewing search results sorted by relevancy, recency of the item matters, especially when searches are broad and return a lot of results. When a broad search (like “dress”) returns over 100,000 results, we give some priority to the most recently posted items. We also have a “most recent” section at the top of the search results where we will display the top 4 most recent items.

Tags:
Tags (or “keywords”) have always been an important factor in having your items found in search results, as they are your way of providing a short and explicit description of your item. We have also added an additional search feature that gives exact word pairs more weight. When your search includes two or more words, we prioritize results that have those exact words next to each other. For example, if I search for “pink unicorn,” results that contain “pink unicorn” in the title or tags will appear higher than those who title an item “Pink Flowers and Unicorn.”

Want further insights into how to describe your items and which keywords to use in your titles and tags? Keep an eye on your Shop Stats to see how your shop and Etsy items are being found. You’ve been asking for the better search on Etsy, and we’re right there with you! As we work hard to improve search, you can help by following the steps above to list your items so they can be found. We plan to move search by relevancy to the default search setting once we feel this is the strongest site experience. Since search by relevancy is an evolving feature, we want to keep you informed about our changes, and we appreciate your patience and help in making Etsy search the very best it can be.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Soft and Lovely
by
Klaire:  MysticSilks.etsy.com
 
 


Thursday, November 15, 2012

Pansy: Winter's Flower 

Golden Threads Team Challenge

by
Beatriz:  AlegriaCollection.etsy.com
 
 

A Christmas to Love
by
Nikki:  IDoYarn.etsy.com



Santa Baby Slip A Sable Under The Tree For Me -

Christmas Gifts

by

Tricia:  SimplyCharmingukshop.etsy.com

 
 

New from Golden Threads
by
Sassalynne @ Sassalynne.etsy.com
 
 

 A Special Thank you!
 
 
Golden Gift Ideas
by
Nikki @ IDoYarn.etsy.com
 
 



Monday, October 22, 2012

TREASURY
"Fabulous Finds Under $20
by
KaristaMoon
 

TREASURY
"When I am Old..."
by
GrannyTakesATrip.etsy.com
 
 


Monday, October 8, 2012

TREASURY: JEWELRY CHRISTMAS GIFTS
by
Tricia Martinez
SimplyCharmingukshop.com
 
 


Friday, July 20, 2012

Treasury: Aubergine Dream

Treasury:  Aubergine Dream
by:  Lisa 



 





Stop by and visit Lisa's Shop filled with many Retro items from the 60's.
 Remember all those "Flower Power" pins and rings we all had to have. 
Lisa has transformed them into great Magnets which you can use on your
 refrigerator door! There are also some Retro purses, dishes, glasses.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

TREASURY: Thank You Friends

 
TREASURY: Thank You Friends
by
Linda Diana Hundsdorfer



Linda, a native of Florida, has now settled a long way from home in Bavaria, Germany. 
A mother of two adorable little girls, Sarah, age 10, and Laura, age 11; and whose husband
is a native of Germany.  Her reason for making Germany her current home is to help her
handicapped daughter, Laura, who was born with Cerebral Palsy.  Unfortunately the
treatment and surgeries that Laura needs is much too expensive in the US.
 
 Vintage Ivory Rose
I recently wrote an article on my blog about Laura, who not letting her disability hold
her down, recently opened her own shop here on Etsy.  She is an inspiration to all who
 allow their disabilities to hold them down.  The blog I wrote is:

 
                                                     Murano Glass Perfume Bottle
Linda has been able to find a release from her stressful day of being a mother with
 a handicapped daughter, has found a home here on Etsy:  In her words,  “I found a
 place where i can show my treasures and I hope that I can make a little extra money .
 It makes me happy to do my jewelry and beadcrafts”.  Linda transfers all her negativity
 and energy into “Tachyon-Energym, a Holistic healing which merges science and
spirituality in our sharing of healing energy.  Have fun looking at my Treasures:-)

 
Vintage Lampwork Earrings
 *I was proud to find this little notation at the end of Laura’s profile!
Thank you Magdalene, for what you did for Laura