Christmas is coming!

Have YOUR name (or that of a friend or loved one) custom designed in graffitti you can hang on your wall!

YOU pick the color, YOU pick the style! Do you prefer Urban Ghetto? Or is your style more Techno Flair? Whatever your preference, it is made to your specifications.

Ink, marker, and colored pencil on quality 8.5 by 11 oak tag... perfect for framing!

Christmas is coming... get them a gift that they'll not only remember, but one they'll enjoy!

Visit my etsy shop to order YOURS today!

My First Post!

Hi every one!!! MY name is Kyle, and this is my first ever blog post! I'm getting an early start on things, being that I'm only 6 months old... but it's never too early to blog, right? OK, so here we go!!!

My post today will be a review of Baby Einstein's DVD "Baby's First Sounds, Discoveries for Little Ears".

Now, my Mom has been wanting to check out Baby Einstein DVDs for a while now, because she has heard such wonderful things about them. So, with a little help from Dad, they chose this particular DVD to try out with me!

Well, to be completely honest, the DVD is a bit of a let-down. First of all, it has more than one language throughout. There isn't enough English. And, if this is designed to teach us babies our first sounds/words, then it should focus on ONE language, as to not confuse us. We are only little babies, after all! My first words are not going to be in a different language!

We are not going to give up on Baby Einstein, but this DVD definitely had a lot lacking. But it's fun to play with, at least! I'm going to go take a nap now. Thanks for reading my first post!!!

Unfair Treatment of Homeless People

There is a two-level homeless shelter that is run by C.H.I. (Community Housing Initiative). Recently they have seen bed bugs in the facility upstairs. This is not an infestation, but they are hoping to nip it in the bud before it becomes a problem. To this end, they hired (expensively) a fumigator to come in today and fumigate. The clients who live there had to move all their belongings out of their respective rooms. If the clients had no other place to put the belongings, they could bag them up and place them in the basement until later this evening when every one is allowed to return. This is a good plan, and I commend C.H.I. for providing space for the client's belongings. After all, it is a homeless shelter... if people had a place to store their stuff, likely they wouldn't have to be in a shelter to being with.

What I do find unfair is the fact that all the clients had to take their clothes (clean AND dirty) and wash them, at their own expense. Whether the client has a job or not, or a family or friend's place to wash the clothes, they have to wash the clothes. All of them. Many of the clients do not have the financial means to do this. C.H.I.'s response to this? "What would you do if you were on your own? If you do not comply, you are free to return to the Department of Social Services and be rehoused". Many clients have children in school, and there is no gaurantee that DSS could rehouse them in a shelter any where near the schools. Sometimes DSS will put you in a motel, and the motels are horribly run- dirty and bug-ridden.

I find this extremely unfair to people who are in difficult situations who are trying to get their lives on track once again. All of the clothes we have currently (my husband, me, and the baby) cost us $72.00 to have washed. Why did we have them washed instead of washing them ourselves? Because we "need a receipt" as proof that they were truly washed, or they wouldn't be allowed back into the shelter. One poor girl simply didn't have the funds to wash the clothes, so she had to take herself and little baby and return to DSS. Who knows where they put her.

Welcome to October (my FAVORITE month!)

I had a thought a while back. I have this same thought every year. The thought is this: that I WILL document and experience SOME sort of October every day of the month, wether it is baking apple pie or collecting leaves, or something! Well, needless to say, life gets in the way, and I may not have stuck to the "every day" rule, but I've been trying to do something every day so far. I think I'm doing ok...

I began knitting my baby boy a blue scarf. I like how it's coming out so far... I'm knitting in straight standard regular knit stitch, except for the edges which I'm doing knit knit, purl purl, to create a kind of border. I will post a picture as it comes along.

I took my Kyle out for a nice Autumnal walk the other day, and this is how he looked!

We saw these interestingly-sculpted bushes. It reminded me of Edward Scissorhands!

We also got to see this interesting fungus growing on a nearby tree!

We also finally found this pear tree that I'd been looking for! I had heard a friend mention it's existance, but she told me the wrong location. So I was very pleased when I did indeed find it!

We also saw this lovely fall tree... it truly is my favorite time of year!

AND just for fun... here is a picture of my baby boy, sportin' a cool hat! Every one get outside and ENJOY this month... it only comes once a year!!!