Etsy Twitter Team Side Walk Sale

The Etsy Twitter Team is having a Sidewalk Sale to celebrate the spring weather and to get outside a bit! Virtually! So please take a stroll down our sidewalk of shop listings. Each shop is having a different sale so check them all out. There are some extremely great deals going on this week!!

The sales run from Sunday, May 17th to Saturday, May 23rd.

This is a partial list of some of my favorite sellers from the sidewalk sale. Please visit the team blog for a full listing.





AquarianBath.etsy.com
Free Lavender Spearmint Lip Balm with purchase of $10 or more. Add the comment "Etsy Twitter Sidewalk Sale" during checkout.


InMyHeadStudios.etsy.com
15% off items (not including shipping or NY state sales tax if applicable). Add the comment "Etsy Twitter Sidewalk Sale" during checkout. Discount given via PayPal refund.


ACageyBee.etsy.com
Every order will get a free sampler pack of 4 postcards included in their shipment! In the note to seller box, please mention "Sidewalk Sale" to get your free postcards.

HuayruroPeru.etsy.com
20% discount using PayPal refund to everyone mentioning "Sidewalk Sale" in message to seller box

Jenco13.etsy.com
free shipping to anyone in the USA and a flat rate of $5 to all other countries on her list for items over $20 and $3 for items under $20. Discount given via PayPal refund

TamaraGarvey.etsy.com
With any purchase, get a FREE single card of your choosing from any of the card sets in the Stationary section of her shop. Just include which card you'd like in the Message to Seller box, or contact her soon after purchase.

Tamdoll.etsy.com
Free domestic shipping on non-ribbon items. Will automatically give a PayPal refund for items not already specially marked as part of the sale. Tamdoll is also the EtsyTwitter Shop of the week. Check out her interview on our team blog.



ArtWhims.etsy.com
Free Shipping on every item in the shop! To redeem this great deal, enter “MAYSIDEWALK” into the message to the seller upon check out. You will be reimbursed through PayPal for the cost of shipping.

DeeJayPhotography.etsy.com
Free shipping! Type "Sidewalk Sale" in Notes to seller to receive a refund via PayPal.

Many thanks to SassyCat.etsy.com for creating our sale graphic!!

Nature Walk Along the Hood Canal

My mom and daughter and I took a walk along the Hood Canal earlier this week at Kitsap Memorial Park. It was pretty cold, but that didn't stop us from having a good time. The hood canal bridge is closed this month for repairs. Here is the foot ferry leaving Lowfall headed toward Shine. My uncle quite fortuitously and just recently purchased a water front lot next to the ferry. The state is now paying him a monthly rental fee for use of the lot for parking. Yay for Lou.



I was really hoping that my daughter would find something that caught her interest, and she did indeed. She forgot the cold for a good long while after my mom wisely suggested that we turn over some rocks to see what we could find. With each rock she turned over she squealed "LOOOOOK! A CRABBBBBB!" She wanted to turn over every rock even as she was shivering with every step back towards the parking lot.


Baby Dungess crab with Limpets, Barnacles and Algae. I used to know the names of all these Sea Weeds and invertebrates. It's been way to long since I studied Marine Biology in Friday Harbor. It's nice to know that my girl has the same enthusiasm that I have for marine life. Maybe I will relearn everything with her later on.

Kingston Farmer's Market

I had the honor to participate at the Kingston Farmer's market last Saturday among a great group of vendors. The Kingston Farmers market is open May through mid October 9 am to 2pm every Saturday, right next to the ferry terminal.

Here I am getting set up. I will be back again this Saturday May, 16th.


On my table here is the current issue of The Essential Herbal Magazine, which features my Herbal Chemistry article. Also here are some of my balms and soaps which are also available online.


I had a nice waterfront view of the bay from my table.


Wonderful live bluegrass music was played the whole time. I got to take a peek towards the end of the day, and this mom and daughter were dancing away.


There was a wide variety of vendors offering fresh produce, plants, cut flowers, hand spun wool and clothing, jewelry, worm farms, 50 gallon drums, tapestry bags, whimsical furniture and toys, art prints and cards, hand made picnic tables and chairs, and more. I went home with a large slab of smoked salmon from one of the nice vendors. My mom picked up a nice bracelet for a mother's day gift for my sister. This is Cindy from Terrapin Farm of Port Gamble. I got some tasty radishes from her and Ken.



This is Nancy Rekow who was my neighbor on Saturday. I took home Nancy's book "Recipe for Raising Chickens" which she edited and published. This book was out of print until recently when she make a 3rd printing at NW Trillium Press. This book has fabulous illustrations and the lettering was actually done by Nancy's hand. This book is great for people who would like to learn how to take care of brooding hens and chicks. The author was Minnie Rose Lovgreen who was born in 1888 on a 200 acre farm in Norfolk County, England. Minnie recorded the book for Nancy to write down. Minnie's story was quite amazing; in 1912 she booked passage on the Titanic with her brother, but boarded a different ship when they found the sailing time was delayed. Minnie and Nancy were neighbors on Bainbridge Island for a number of years where Minnie taught Nancy to raise chickens. Nancy's book is $13.00 and can be ordered from her directly by calling (206) 824-6908.

These Caught My Eye

I stopped in at the my Etsy Twitter Team's Blog this morning to check out the shop of the week. I'm a sucker for anything green. These sage colored crystal earrings really stood out when I visited Toledo artist Katy Mim's etsy shop, South Paw Studios. Katy studied jewelry design at the Toledo Museum of Art. Katy offers wholesale and bridal pieces. Check out her interview on our team blog.

Change of Scenery: Washington in May

I must have been kidding myself to think that I had truly adapted to Central Florida. The moment I came back to my family's house in Washington, I smelled the oxygen rich forest air and heard the frogs and instantly felt at home. Palmettos and Live oaks are nice, but nothing quite compares to the lush green vegetation in the Pacific Northwest. Leaving can be agony, so I'm hoping I will not have as hard a time when I go back later this month as I have had in years past. The following are some pictures that I took walking around my family's property on the Kitsap Peninsula the other day.

These are branches from 'my' cedar tree. It was already huge when I was little and here it is still standing.


Oregon Grape and Trillium plants


These are my mom's Comfrey plants that I just harvested leaves from today. I will be using them to make an infused oil for my skin soothing salve. Although I do have Comfrey at home in Florida that I started from my mom's roots, the plants really do not like the heat. They have never looked as healthy as these.


My next project is harvesting these nettles to dry for infusions. We have a nice dry day for it today.


This is red Elderberry. I needed a little help identifying it. I didn't recognize it without the berries.


New sword fern leaves are unfurling. The older leaves were flattened to the ground by winter snow.


These are the Solomon's Seal plants that my parents planted right before I moved to Florida. They seem to like the shady hillside very much.


This is an ornamental Magnolia tree that my dad planted when I was younger. As you can see it is quite stunning when it is in bloom.

Mother's Day Peace Vigil in Washington D.C.

Code pink is organizing a Mother's Day 24-hour Peace Vigil at the White house this Friday and Sunday. This gathering embodies the original intent of Mother's Day as envisioned by social activist Julia Ward Howe.

This video shows a beautiful recitation of Julie Ward Howe's Mother's Day declaration.



If you are in the D.C. area and would like to participate please visit code pink for details.

Weekend Garden Adventure: I Spy a Tomato Hornworm

I came in two hours later than usual to the garden work party on Saturday morning at the Fair Share Garden. I found these amazing tomato hornworms, Manduca quinquemaculata, when I got there. I spotted two of them when I came in and checked the beds for weeds and pests. They were perfectly camouflaged among what was left of the foliages they had been consuming. Hornworms are large and are best controlled by picking them off the plants. Here is an informative page I found about hornworms.

Inpromtu insect workshop.


Look at how much foliage they took off this stem! It only takes them about an hour to do that.


These larvae were about 3.5 inches long. The adult is the Five-spotted hawk moth.


Here I am with the Rose Geranium plants that are coming in so nicely. No bugs there, just sweet little pink flowers. These plants are so great for Florida gardens. The grow year round and start easily from cuttings. This is the same Rose geranium that I use for making infused oil, or vinegars. Specifically I use it my Rose Geranium Deodorant Spray and Rose Geranium Conditioning hair rinse.


Photos by Fair Share Garden volunteer Patricia Shaw.

Blog Contest - 10th and Final week

Torchsong Studio will be hosting the 10th and final week of our blog contest.

Maryanne is offering something a little different to close out the contest.

A lead free pewter garden pin with a little glass ladybug charm in the middle and garden tools on either side.

Just comment on this, or any of the other blogs participating for a chance to win one of ten pins to be given away. MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE A CONTACT email.

Remember all of the blogs below are participating, so visit all of them and post to increase your chances of winning.

The Essential Herbal magazine subscription
Garden Chick - fairy cookie kit
SunRose Aromatics - facial exfoliant and liquid soap
Herbs from the Labyrinth - tea sampler
Patti's Potions - lip balms
PrairieLand Herbs - healing wand
Aquarian Bath - lip balm and soap
The Rosemary House - Bertha Reppert's "Twelve Month Herbal"
Nature's Gift - purse-sized inhalers & inhalation blend
Torchsong Studio Our final contest - check back on May 8 for the list of winners!