Blog Archives June 2006

There won’t be many changes to the Web site for the next couple of weeks.  We are packing up and heading out on a much needed family vacation to a peaceful section of Rhode Island.  I am looking forward to the sand between my toes, the sun on my face and sitting on the deck to read a juicy summer book (it has been quite a while since I have had time to enjoy a book).

My mom (the other creative force behind Watermelon Rind) will be holding down the fort while I am away.

Happy Fourth!!

When I was a little girl, I loved horses.  I collected toy horses, I read all of the Black Beauty books, and I loved our drives through the country. From the time I was able to grasp the concept of Santa Claus until I was old enough to realize the reasons Santa couldn’t grant my wish, I asked for a horse every year for Christmas. We lived in the city, 2/3 of my backyard was cement, and we didn’t have money for a horse, so it was never going to happen, but I asked anyways.

Coincidentally, my oldest daughter is in a bit of a horse phase as well.  The phase came about suddenly and she was not prompted by me in any way, shape or form.   I think that her initial fondness for these magnificent creatures surfaced because one of her friends loves horses, and when you are 5, it is cool to say “I love horses too.”  Despite it not being an originalidea of hers, I truly believe that her love is genuine.  She, too, loves the movie Black Beauty, she has an encyclopedia of horses that she reads, and she loves looking for horses in meadows.

Yesterday, she got the opportunity of a lifetime…she got to ride a horse.  Not a pony, an honest to goodness 6 foot tall horse – with a gorgeous brown coat, a brown mane, a flowing tail and a tiny white diamond in between his eyes.  You should have seen the look on her face…part excitement, part nervousness, part amazement.  And, the pictures of her with her riding helmet on are priceless (I will include some later).  I was happy for her.  Happy because she was so happy, and happy that she got to experience something like this in the throes of her passion for these animals.  To this day, I have never ridden a horse (the opportunity never presented itself when I was younger and I now have a bad back and horses are off limits), but I think it was much more magical to see the experience through the eyes of my daughter.  She beamed, she giggled, and she sat atop the horse exuding such confidence at her tender age – as if it was the most natural place for her to be.  And, after it was all over, she thanked everyone around her profusely, smiled half the way home in the car and talked about it all night.

We also learned a few things about horses that we did not know: horses are afraid of umbrellas, the sound of baby carriages on cement, and flash photography; horses can live for 30+ years; and they wear masks over their eyes so that flies can not land in the orbs to take a drink (it gives them conjunctivitis).  I want to sincerely thank Pam for her wisdom, her sense of humor, her patience with all of our questions and for making sure that crazy thoroughbred didn’t kick us in the head.  I also want to send a heartfelt thank you to Mary for letting Brenna ride her beautiful horse (it was a memory she won’t soon forget) and for giving us a tour of the grounds in the pouring rain. My youngest daughter got a kick out of seeing the pigs and the chickens.

My challenge for today is this: Think of something that you have witnessed through the eyes of a child.  How did it make you feel to witness the event?  What was their reaction?  Think about it and then document it somewhere…it will make for a great story later on.

I am happy to report that the new items are finally starting to appear on the Web site.  You will notice a new section on the home page called Signature Seeds –it is where all of our watermelon-themed merchandise will appear.  The first of our items is for sale and there will be more to follow in the near future.  You will not be disappointed…our coasters are boutique quality and all hand-crafted.  They are heavy, durable and perfect for all types of decor.  All of the styles of coasters are great, but I am particularly fond of these ones.

This is the time to check our site often…we have a lot going on and there is a lot to be excited about.  If you have any questions, please contact us.  As always, you can reply to this blog and we will return your reply as soon as possible.

Have a great night.  Thanks for stopping in.

We have a bunch of new stuff slated to hit the site by the end of June.  Now, deadlines have to be completed, Web updates need to be made and the stars must align while Mercury is in retrograde for the timing to work out the way we want it to.  If all that can be accomplished, you will notice some exciting changes to the site.  We will have a couple of new categories of products on the home page…one will be our “paper” line (offering scrapbooks, shadowboxes, invitations, etc.) and the other will be our “signature section” of watermelon themed items.  We’re excited about the expanded product line and hope you will be as well.  Check back often…it truly won’t be much longer now.  Enjoy your night!

That’s the great thing about this Web site.  We have a standard product line, but we also accept custom orders on anything from coasters to blankets to signs to shadowboxes.  It’s liberating to have that added creative freedom when designing something for a customer.  We just filled an order for a custom sign.  We knew the color preference and we knew the words, but the rest was in our hands. The color scheme could be laid out either way: light on dark or dark on light.  The overall size of the wood was up to us.  We even tested out a new font and did a stencil/freehand design.  It was a lot of fun…and the customer loved it!

This is a great time of year to order a custom sign – order one for a beach house or to add some punch to the interior of your home or apartment.  We will work with you to create something you are sure to love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S.  The font you see above will be offered on the Web site…until we get the selection up, please note in the comment section that you would like the 3″ casual alphabet.

…why I haven’t been blogging the past couple of days.

1. the stomach bug found my youngest daughter (I have been purelling and lysoling and doing massive amounts of laundry).
2. it has been a torrential downpour in this part of the country for virtually the last 2 months and we once again have water in our family room (we flooded out last fall and lost an entire wall and our carpet; we took our time replacing it mainly because I was gun-shy about putting money into repairs when we might once again get wet…I was right).
3. due to the aforementioned rainfall, we have had some trees down in the area and have lost power a couple of times.  No electricity = no blog.

I am hoping that life returns to a reasonable pace over the next few days, the water table retreats, the water stays out of our family room and my immune system is bigger and badder than “The Bug.”  Please wish me luck…

I have been buying some pretty cool fabric for our summer line of “things.”  I don’t want to give away too much just yet, but I am excited.  And, based on feedback I think you will be as well.

I am striving to get some fresh new things up on the Web site by the end of June, so please stop back in the coming weeks.  And, if you have any suggestions, please use the contact form or reply to a blog entry.  I will be sure to get back to you. Have a great day!

Today is my youngest daughter’s birthday.  Two years old…where does the time go?  She plays the part of the 2 year old very well…independent one minute – asking for help the next, happiness and laughter turns to a temper tantrum at the drop of a hat, a hug for her older sister turns into whacking her over the head with a porcelain tea pot.  Every day is different, exciting and filled with lots of laughter and modest amounts of frustration.  So, today I want to wish her a very happy birthday! I hope this year is a good one…filled with lots of laughter and learning.  We love you, Shay!