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We also saw some pretty butterflies.
The surf was strong in some places. Its the Baltic Sea.
We took a day trip to Copenhagen, which is close to where we were staying, just across a bridge between Sweden and Denmark.
The guards were changing when we arrived at castle Amalienborg.
Of course the classic tourist shot of the little mermaid. 
And we spent some time tasting the local cuisine. This was the garden at our favorite café, which had cakes to die for. 
I have been away for a week to the south of Sweden. Its been raining heavily here too, but we managed to get the week with the least rain and a lot of sunshine. It wasn't warm enough to go swimming in the sea though. We visited a beech forest national park and a zoo, which had the most amazing baby animals and all in action. It was a great experience, not like the usual sluggish zoo animals, hiding in the bushes. We stayed for 7 hours and in the evening, when all the noisy kids had left, we got to see even more animals.
The beech forest.
A baby lynx/bobcat.
Lynx parent.
An otter.
Bears of course. 
These are European wild cats. Not feral domestic cats!
And some wolves.
I think, people use a drop spindle to spin without a wheel. I haven't done any spinning myself though, yet, so no personal experience. There are good resources on the web though.
Love her Sophie! 
:clap:
Congratulations Jeremy! Good choice! I am biding my time to buy a new Mac Book until the new OS (Leopard) is out. Indeed, a Mac is so easy to use, you hardly need the assistance of a tech guy. If you do get stuck on something just come here and we'll help you.
You may indeed need more than one browser for different websites. I use Netscape (no its not a virus hazard like Explorer and Outlook Express), Firefox and Safari. I also have Camino, which is a nice browser. All free of course.
You do know that you can install Windows on your Mac as well and run it parallel with your Mac OS? Not that you'd need it, but there is the odd program that doesn't come in a Mac version. There are several options to do that if you need it, although it feels almost like a violation to that brilliant mashine. 
Very sweet!
Thank you ladies! My crochet has always been on the stiff side, creating bullet proof potholders :crackup: Turns out, for bears its perfect as it doesn't stretch much. 
Its been a while since I made a miniature crocheted bear, but here is Violet in her pjs. She stands about 6.5 cm high, which is a little over 2.5 inches. Made from punch thread without the use of a pattern. Violet is already on her way to a friend as a birthday gift. Thanks for looking!
He looks like the 'real' thing! I'm impressed. :clap:
Hmm, I'm no lawyer, but to me that's the same as if you were to buy the materials with your own money and give the bear away. Surely this must be allowed. They do want you to use the patterns more than once right? I would think that its the profit making part that is prohibited.
Isn't it amazing, just 10 years ago, Internet and email were still novelties, used by few people. Today, I go mad when my provider is slow, let alone down for as little as five minutes :doh: :crackup: Hope your problems will be solved soon Daph. Surely they should be working day and night including weekends to fix something this serious. Perhaps they have been hacked and need to rebuild everything. :hug: :hug: :hug:
Lovely bear! Great colour too. :clap:
Happy Birthday Ilze! :cake: :bday: :dance: :dance:
Very cute Andrea! I like the flower on her head. :clap:
Way to go Carolyn! :clap: :clap: :clap:
He really looks like a Delartful bear. Very cute!
Great to hear that you are getting better Katrina! Sorry you are still in pain. I suppose knowing that its a good sign and will eventually subside makes it bearable, but it still sucks. I hope you will feel normal again soon. :hug: :hug:
Crossing my fingers for Gypsy! :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:
I saw the coiled ones on glasseyes.com too, but I think I have seen them elsewhere before. I'll try to link the pic in here. What I'm mostly interested in is the term "single loop", which appears to be used by British suppliers for the crimped loop.
I know we discussed eyes before, but I don't think we discussed the different terminologies. I like the pre-crimped narrow loop glass eyes, but many bear supply shops don't really tell what type of loop their eyes have. Intercal of course does and also shows pictures, but with the risk of high customs fees I'd prefer to get them in Europe. I know I have bought them from some suppliers, but mostly by accident rather than by choice. Does anyone know if single loop is the British term for the narrow loops? I suspect it is, but not sure. What is the difference between German and English glass eyes? Is it the loop perhaps? If someone sells German eyes are they all crimped? Why would they call it single loop? To me both the round loop and the narrow one look single. I know there are coiled loops too, but how would one insert those into a head and what's the advantage?
Dear Eliza,
I have never sold on ebay, but I'm a buyer. From what I see, most people state clearly in their auctions within what time span they want to be paid, usually 3-10 days. If you did that, stick to that number and then the deal is off. If youd din't say anything in your auction I think you have waited long enough, particularly since she hasn't responded. She could of course have had an accident or be ill, but how are you to know? I think you can get her phone number through ebay, but you can also file a non-paying bidder report. That way she may not be able to harm you with bad feedback. Never been a non-payer and never having sold anything I can't tell you exactly how that works though.
Ebay wants you to relist I think, but you can make a second chance offer to the lady who wants the elephant if she is the second highest bidder. I've had such offers twice and accepted both. There should be some function on your auction, which lets you do that. She gets an email with the offer and an expiration date by which she has to accept. Then you send her an invoice and she (hopefully) pays. I got the items for the price I bid, so you may not get $81 from her though. I have also bought things off ebay after an initial deal with a seller. Ebay doesn't like that, but I think they are greedy enough, so if an auction didn't sell and I can get it later, its only fair to the seller to not make them pay fees again for a re-list.
Good luck!
Hmm, a quarter moon shape sounds like you are supposed to fold the straight edge up and sew it along the curved upper line, which would then become the bottom I guess. Sewing the straight edge along the curve would cup the ear, but it would also become a very thick ear. Maybe you can email the pattern designer?
Ack! This may be the cutest cat I've ever seen. You're right, cat faces are extremely difficult and most don't get it quite right, but you nailed it! I am in awe! :clap: :clap: :clap:
Oh Lynette, you've really had your share of sad events recently. I really hope Jessie pulls through. :hug: :hug: :hug:
There is also another aspect to all of this. Not that I think the few artist bears make much of a different compared to the huge numbers of manufactured bears, but there is an environmental aspect too. Real fur is biodegradable, so is mohair, but not synthetics. The fur and leather preparation often uses unfriendly chemicals, although harmless ways are known. I have bought leather belts from the WWF, which were made in an environmentally friendly way, not sure about furs though. Synthetics are a product from the petro-chemical industry and that means they are part of all the negative effects of oil. Marine wildlife dies in the millions each day if you include plankton, just from the small spills happening all over the oceans all the time. There is hardly a place of ocean without oil. The large spectacular Exxon Valdez type spills are just the tip of the iceberg really. And production of synthetic fibers is anything but good for the environment. Then when you throw your synthetics out (not only furs, but think of your clothes e.g. Goretex) they won't decompose as natural materials do. They have to be burnt with all the nasty chemicals being released and having to be collected and deposited, or they are buried, where they last for centuries until erosion breaks them down.
I don't like cruelty towards animals and wouldn't use a new mink fur unless it maybe came from a certified animal friendly breeder. I prefer vintage furs and think it is nice to honor the animal a last time by making it into a piece of art. I also think its fine to use new furs from animals that are eaten (rabbits, lambs etc.) so nothing goes to waste. However, a fur harms a limited number of individuals, while synthetics harm whole ecosystems and are a much greater problem. Having said that, I can't avoid using synthetics in my clothes and do so for my bears, but it helps put a perspective on things.
Just some food for thought, no judging or finger-pointing from me. We all need to find our own level of ecological awareness that we are comfortable with. And Debbie, you are right, farming of plants is far from environmentally or animal safe. Large scale farming wouldn't be possible if they went and picked up all the birds and rabbits and whatnot that are in the way of the big harvester machines, not to mention all the insects getting killed by pesticides. Vegetarians and vegans who advocate against killing animals tend to ignore those facts. Don't mean to give any of the vegetarians here sleepless nights though.
