Need A Makeover

I have been putting a lot of thought into giving my blog a makeover. I have been blogging for seven years now using the same template. I can't believe I've let this happen. I like change.
I have changed my colors and back ground photo before, but not the layout.

I'm skeerd I will not like it or that it will mess up my other past post. I'm not real smart on the whole "backing up my blog thing", which you need to do before you make any changes, just in case.
However, I could and would figure it out.

Then this happened. I found a blog makeover giveaway over at life and linda. She is also known as "My Fairy Blogmother". I signed up. Maybe I will win. I'll know by Sunday. Fingers crossed.

If I do not win. I may go ahead and tackle it myself. Blogger has introduced some new templates and clean looking layouts. I just don't know if I want the type of layout that readers have to click "read more" to move on to the rest of the story. That's what it seems everyone is doing now. Well see. I think I'm pretty good with HTML codes once I get into them. That's something MySpace (before facebook) taught me years ago when I used to help my daughter set up her site. MySpace was all by HTML codes. Now I know why older folks leaned more toward Facebook. ha!

So, I'll sit here and wait to see if I win a blog makeover.
Either way, be prepared to see a change coming soon to my blog look. Don't worry, The name and link with stay the same. Just the layout will look different. If I don't chicken out first it will be sometime next week.

I hope in the process I do not lose anything. Wish me luck.

The Tomato Pincushion

Think......

Remember back to your mother or grandmother. Do you remember seeing a tomaoto Pin cushion sitting around their home somewhere? I bet you did. I bet you at least have seen one in someones house you know.
I remember my mom had one. In fact, I think she still uses it.

(source)

Back in the middle ages, Pins and needles were costly. Women would use pin cushions not only to store their pins and needles but would also use pin cushions to display these expensive necessities. By the 1700's pin pillows were more for decoration than for use.

Back in the Victorian era, A tomato was placed on the mantels of new homes. It was a folklore that they were used to ward off evil spirits. When they realized that tomatoes were not always in season, people started makeing pillowed tomatoes out of cloth and stuffed them with sand or saw dust. Through out the years, the stuffed tomato became a good luck symbol eventually doubling as a pin cushion. this is why most pin cushions are still round.

(source)

Attached to the top of the tomato pin cushion, is a small stuffed strawberry. This was filled with sand or originally emery which was fine metal shavings. The strawberry was used to sharpen the pins and needles.

Pretty cool huh? So, if your mom had one, it was probably because everyone else had one. If she sewed, It was used a lot, and my moms did just that.

I bet your thinking back or looking around the house right now, huh?.