OOPS, NEARLY FORGOT TO POST

Hi everyone

Clearly my week of changing blogging style has thrown me as I nearly forgot my mid-week post.  Possibly also due to having a change of routine with Richard being on holiday - and the sun is still shining!  I think I had better stop blaming him for the bad weather.

I have received a few emails this week from companies saying 'now that summer is over.....'.  Please, don't say that - August hasn't finished, September is sometimes lovely and even October is occasionally sunny and warm during the day.  Summer has been so grim, so let's try very hard to enjoy summer and stop pushing ourselves towards autumn (yes, a gorgeous time of year for colour in the garden) and winter.

The Jazz and Shadow 'battle' continues.  They had a run in yesterday and this morning.  I really do think Shadow wants to be friends, but his approach just frightens Jazz.  Jazz did disgrace himself on Monday - he caught a pigeon.  Richard managed to rescue it and although it didn't look 100%, we think it might have survived.  Horrible though it may seem to everyone, unfortunately cat's are hunters, and even a bell around their neck doesn't stop them.

A couple of weeks ago Rumpy Dog commented on one of my blog posts and added a note asking if I could remove the captcha part from my comment section.  I wasn't aware I had left this on until Caroline (Caroleecrafts) pointed it out to me on Tuesday - many thanks Caroline, I have now (I hope) removed it.  It seems this may prevent many visitors from commenting as it can be infuriating trying to read the letters, and now figures, in the captcha box.  Apologies everyone, hopefully it will now be easier to leave a comment - comments will still be moderated, but should be easier to leave.

Having said 'no to leaving summer behind', I am off to plant some autumn/winter bulbs in our front garden.  I always tend to leave it too late, but this year I have decided to get a move on and do it now.

If you would like to be a guest blogger, do please get in touch: christmaspiecrafts@virginmedia.com.  Your post can be about your business, a hobby, pets, travel or something you are planning to do.  It should be approximately 600 - 800 words, have lots of pictures and links to your website, blog, etc.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the week and don't forget to come back for my Friday Guest Blogger's post - as always I know you will enjoy it.  I will be back on Sunday with my main post.

Jill

TODAY'S GUEST BLOGGER IS..............

Hi, my name is Jenny, and I'm the creator of Rumpydog.com, a blog written by a dog for those who love animals.  Through the voices of Rumpy, DeDe, and June Buggie, I share information about a variety of topics of interest to pet owners and animal lovers.

I want to share with you some information that may help you reach out to those of us that love animals.

First of all, why bother?  Well, because there's so darn many of us! In the United States, 62% of households have at least one pet. In the UK, 43% of households have at least one animal companion.

During the recent economic downturn, one industry did not suffer.  What industry was that?  The pet industry of course.  People continued to buy pet food, pet toys, and other pet products.

So there's a lot of folks you could be reaching just by having pet ownership in common.  That's actually how I found Jill's blog.  She had used a picture of her cat as her profile pic on Facebook.  I saw it, thought her cat was quite pretty, and took a look at her profile.  I don't know that I would have done the same if she had a picture of one of her crafts posted. 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not telling you to go animal crazy.  And I certainly don't want you to pretend to love animals if you don't.  There's one thing that animal lovers can spot a mile away, and that's a phony.  But if you do have a beloved furry, feathery or scaly family member, let people know.  Post a picture on your blog or write a blog post.  If you're a crafter, set up a picture in your booth.  If you don't have pets yourself but do love animals, then do some fund raising for pet charities.  Or carry at least one product that has a cute furry little face on it somewhere.

It will endear you to us.  And believe me when I tell you that we're every bit as loyal as the animals we so love.

Thanks everyone, and I hope you come check out my blog at Rumpy Dog

Twitter: @RumpyDog