ghost bead bracelet

I just love the look and feel of this memory wire layered bracelet. Seed beads, Juniper berries, wood beads and metal findings together make up this ghost bead bracelet.

Find this and others at etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/listing/1524399705/ghost-bead-protection-bracelet-layered

The Food We Eat! Where does yours come from?

I'd like to believe that living on Prince Edward Island known as  "THE MILLION ACRE FARM" that we know the food we eat or at least know where it comes from, but do we?

In answer to that, read labels. A great deal of the food we eat is imported, why? We are smart enough and have the ability to grown food and be a self sustaining island. But are we? 

Not to bring the Atlantic Superstore to the topic of this conversation, but do you know a great deal of grower labels are from China? Take for instance snow peas! They are so easy to grow if you forget to trellis them they will faithfully produce with a plant toppled over even a plant that has wind damage (bent in half) will continue to yield. But the superstore Carries 2 varieties of snow peas, the ones grown in CHINA and the other packaged and grown in CHINA. 

Shrimp has the label so well hidden but when you search it out with an employee, the pre-packaged, packed, then re-packed label tells you the shrimp sale featured to attract sales- is shrimp from CHINA. PEI has access to Northern Shrimp resources.   I'm telling you this because the shrimp tanks in China, are designed directly under chicken wire cages. The feces from chickens are feeding the shrimp you are investing. Yuck. 

Buy local means the money spent on food (the subject today) well most of it will go to the farmers feed bill, his deseal bill, the straw for bedding animals and tools needed to complete the job of field to fork. After all the meat we live to eat has to be fed, beded, watered, butchered, packaged and labeled. All costly these days.

We as growers produce food from what we raise. The shop offers (too sellers)

Chicken Pot Pie 🥧 

Beef Pies

Heat'n Eat Meals

just to mention a few. So the next time you think local make sure you know where it is raised as well. Take care and happy eating

~00~ Grandma (aka Cindy) 

Winsloe Farm Market

The original makers of 

Heat'n eat meals

545 malpeque rd, pei

Authentic PEI Products

What does local mean? When you look on the package and the product says packaged in Canada, you have to ask yourself where it started out?

I know I wasn't able to digest beef for a number of years. Then my son started farming his own, chickens, eggs, beef and pork about 5 years ago. He started feeding animals the way the ole folks did years ago, he mixed his own feed made up his own combination of grains, minerals,  and hay in the winter months and they are pasture-raised with a higher protein diet in the summer months.  

The taste amazing, the quality and care that goes into feed g animals results in the texture, marbleling and tenderness for sure. I am able to eat his beef and enjoy the fact that getting older didnt mean every steak and roast was going to need to be boiled for hours to be able to eat.

These are a couple of small steaks he cuts up for me. So ya it is a big job but the end result is: we know where are food is grown, we enjoy the good taste, and now we raise the best tasting chicken on the island.

Matthew is my son and I, hi I'm cindy, have bee  cooking at events around Prince Edward Island for years. However due to Covid 19 this year all the events on Island have bee  cancelled. 

Well perhaps if we knew that a year ago we wouldnt have raised so many chicken's, pork and beef. Then what do you do whe  the feed Bill's are  coming in and 

Your not selling a sausage or anything at market. You build your own market.

This is the winsloe farm market run out of a dedicated spot in the front of our home where people can come in and buy local meats and foods we grow ourselves and produce into foods we sell such as chicke  pies, beef pies, bacon meat loaf, lasagna, oh and a bunch of other goodies. We grow a little each week. With rhubarb in season I'm making rhubarb chutney, a great tasting relish to add to meats.

 So here is the freezer stocked. 

my rhubarb chutney $6

we sell marinated bags of chicken as well.

yes we make our own sausages from the chicken Matthew raises. We have about 7 varieties of sausages, 5 different burgers and about 4 flavours of marinated chicken chunks onto skewers for kabobs. 

I like to bake so I get ti do the chi cken pies.

well that should be enough to let you know authentic food PEI should mean it is grown, raised, and food is produced from the food you grow, here local, on Prince Edward Island.

Know what you grow.

Dream Healer with Ghost Beads

It have been more than a few times I've been called, "The Dream Healer"

I started making Ghost Bead necklaces around 1987 I think, 

Maybe it was 1988.

I read about them while trying to calm my 2 year old each night from night terrors. 

One vivid one I remember was she was dreaming that I was covered in worms, they were going in my eyes and out, in my mouth and out my ears.

When she was screaming in the middle of the night I did what any parent would do and I ran to her and scooped her up and tried to comfort her, the next day is when the brousing came out on my eye - she had punched me with all her little might to get away from the worms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Years later, I was making this same kind of necklace for my grandchildren.

Today I make trendy jewelry with ghost beads, but keeping with tradition I bless the beads provided by Mother Nature and smodge with sweetgrass and sage.

Here is a sample and others can be found at

MadeByGrandmasHands.etsy.com

Smudging

~00~ Grandma

To all the homeschoolers and teachers out there, after "Math" Coronavirus Pandemic

Teachers!

Everyone should have a new level of gratitude for all'y'll.

I know I do.

I'm a stay at home Grandmother, not nearly retired but old enough to. I have my adult daughter moved back home after a nasty break-up with her husband, and she works full time that means one thing! I don't have time for proper grammar or punctuation - the monsters in my house will be awake soon.  I have to hurry.

I shouldn't complain right? I mean there are grandmothers out there that don't have any grandchildren..... Come and get mine.

I never thought for a second that being a grandmother a stay at home grandmother during a pandemic would inflict this amount of (no words).

I know people are dying threw this pandemic and I should be grateful that I:

I have grandchildren around me

My business has no business

My couch is worn out

My husband has a memory problem

I gained 18 pounds

I'm potty training one kid

I'm trying to get another one to stay away from tv

And the oldest, what can i say she has her own phone

3, holly fuck I didn't sign up for this

I raised my children

I'm not a teacher

I swear way too much to have kids around me full time

I drink, yup I have a hang over right now.

By the way, this is the first time I've had a hangover, now i know what it is.

Seriously!

I need this pandemic to come to an end.

I have a new respect for teachers, I think I said that already, maybe I'm not hungover but still drunk from last night!

Yes I worry! I was teaching the kids how to fart the day before yesterday. Not exactly, but you know what I mean? They just let wind fly like it is something they are proud of. So I taught them how to fart, without anyone hearing and they don't even need to use their manners when you fart without anyone hearing you, what could be better than not having to excuse yourself?

I have a need to bead.

Yes, I just changed the subject.

Holly fuck here comes one now.

Quick, sit still, close your eyes, don't move.

Rory: Grandma!
Rory: Grandma, I'm awake now, moms gone to werk.
Rory: Grandma, are you sweeping? Y'r ewes are crowesed, 

Rory: I'm 5, did you know that grandma?
Grandma: Yes, I knew that....
Rory: Ha ha ha I twikted you I'm 6

Hazel: I dont talk, give me everything I want or I'l hold you at my highest screaming pitch possible.
Grandma: Grandpa can I drink and wear ear plugs and watch kids?

Ana: my dear sweet Ana, some day when you are all grown up and married I'm still going to be alive and I"m going to move in with you. I'm going to leave my clothes all over the floor, eat in bed, leave my dishes in my room, talk to my friends on my phone all day, tell you I don't like meat or what you are cooking, suggest that some restaurants are still open at this hour, stamp my feet and drag them down the hall, tell you "I can't clean my room it's too much work" I'll ask for a treat in front of your kids so I have them all yelling, I'll fart when the feeling is there, I'm going to lean back on your dining room chairs, and yell at your kids.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Did I mention I have the need to bead but I don't have time?
This is the last thing I made, made with ghost beads, Ghost Beads are a Navajo tradition to bead with for protection.  This is a custom order that I made for a little stinker.

Before I go, I'd like to leave you with this

Do you like my glasses? I said to the youngest grandchild in my view,
Grandchild: " no"
Me: why not?
Grandchild: "bracuze ver scawy"
Me: "I'll take them off then, they don't work anyway"

I need for this to be over soon - we all need our lives to be less stressful.

April 20/20 dedication to the families, friends, teachers and first responders who lost their lives in a senseless mass shooting in Nova Scotia (22 death count)

~00~ Grandma (aka Cindy) or Crafting - madebygrandmashands.etsy.com

Sea Glass Jewelry

I'm living in Canada's #1 Beach destination!!!! Woohoo 

Surrounded by Surf, Sand and Sea,

If the ocean gives you Sea Glass,

Make Jewelry

Changes to Etsy 2020 Killed my shop.

That was what my title was going to be then I got to thinking, hey! 

I know how to work with change

First

Stop complaining - use that time to make product

Second

Over Research - only qualifies the problem you are having

Third

Seriously Reevaluate - what you have and make it better

S.O.S

I've noticed a lot of traffic, decrease in sales by 80 to 90%, changes that benefit US sellers, paid promotions, cause and effect in algorithm

My plan! More listings, good quality photos, short descriptions, blog posts, Instagram and Pinterest. 

Take the time to write each buyer a note, include a surprise, wow them, then ask for a review

EYE CANDY!!!

Seaglass Earrings

Seaglass Necklace Pendant
This week, new product, photos, description and post to social media

If you like this and want to see more
Visit My Shop
etsy.com/shop/seaglassing

The Answer to Painful Cold Diabetic Feet

I'm so excited about the upcoming Etsy Spring 2019 Market

These are my 70's slippers, don't you love them?

That 70's Slipper

In Pink

In time for Easter and the Sprint Market. Find these and other crochet items @

madebygrandmashands.etsy.com

These are the Answer to Painful Cold Diabetic Feet, the bottoms are a warm Canadian Made felt that I handcut to size then crochet the slippers onto. Felt bottom sole are flat so they don't hurt painful diabetic feet, extra warm and sized to fit.

Thanks for viewing,

Cindy

~00~ Grandma (aka Cindy) or Crafting - http://scrapandwrap.ca