Build It Anyway--go confidently into 2009

Just wanted you to know who Rob, the author of this message is; i played high school football with Rob Earl almost 50 years ago. We reconnected at our reunion and have since struck up our old friendship. It is truly a blast for me. Rob is a super guy that i always admired and appreciate his friendship and guidance. He is a senior partner in Watson Earl advertising agency in NYC.
Thanks Rob
your buddy number 12
ed

rob earl

Watson Earl & Partners

A GroundSwell Network Agency

Build It Anyway--go confidently into 2009

A few years ago I heard how, during the Great Depression (yes, that one), one college professor decided to send his graduating students off into the world with a few words of inspiration to help them find their way in challenging times.

He called his modest sendoff "Build Anyway."

Whether the story is apocryphal or not, when I heard what he passed along to them I reacted much the way many of us around the world responded recently to seeing the late Professor Randy Pausch deliver his now famous "The Last Lecture" as it went viral on the internet.

With all the economic and other issues ahead of us—and the steady drumbeat of negative news reports accompanying them—I thought this would be the perfect time to bring "Build Anyway" to a new audience.

Hope it helps.

Build Anyway

Give the world the best you have and you may be criticized;

give it your best anyway.

People will tell you it can't be done, it's impossible;

do the impossible anyway.

It's always easier to do the wrong thing and not so easy to do the right thing;

do the right thing anyway.

Everyone knows one person really can't make a difference;

make a difference anyway.

All the good you do may be forgotten tomorrow;

do good anyway.

The biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest minds;

think big ideas anyway.

Everything you build may be destroyed;

build anyway.

Some people believe that one person can't change the world;

give it your best and change the world anyway.

All the best for a Merry Christmas,

a Happy Chanukah and

a Happy and Prosperous New Year

rob

Your business

While i was sitting in the waiting room of my accountant, i picked up the June, 2008 issue of the HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW. Not that i am a regular reader , but this great magazine always seems to have some real good tidbits. Mostly they relate to large companies, but can certainly be good information for any of us in business. I thought this article might be interesting and helpful. THE SECRETS TO SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY EXECUTION. You can check it out at www.hbr.org. Here are some points i reacted to...small or large companies tend to go straight to reorganizing, if they have problems and neglect the most powerful drivers of effectiveness--decision rights and proper information. Perhaps you too , like me, have an employee or employees that dont have a clear sense of their roles and responsibilities. Who is accountable, and for what..and have you made the connection for them between performance and reward. All my brilliant ideas mean nothing unless we are able to execute...get it done. Everyone must have a clear understanding of the decisions and actions for which they are responsible and get rewarded because of it. The article goes on to say; once you have the proper information, make the decision , execute it, and dont second-guess it. Early company success comes from employee satisfaction and that comes from knowing what you expect from them and what they can expect from you. Often , because some of us are really small companies , with one or maybe two employees, we tend not to make responsibility perfectly clear...this hurts the entire company. EXECUTE THE PLAN.

grandparents and kids make Silly Snacks

The whole idea of cooking with your grandkids , is being together and letting them help. Here's one from Sesame Street-Silly Snacks. Strawberry Jam Jammies--eat in your Jammies.
1. you and the kids can stir 16 oz of whole strawberries and 1/3 cup sugar into a 2-quart casserole dish. 2. microwave for 2 minutes. cut in small pieces and add juice from 1/2 lemon. microwave 10 more minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. 3. let the jam cool. pour into storage containers and refrigerate. will keep for up to two weeks. 4. when the jam is cooled completely, make the sammies. put slices of bread on a cutting board. cut shapes from the bread using assorted cookie cutters. spread the bread shapes with jam
now you are Jammin!!!

enjoy
grammie
good folks good things

wood toys from WEE are worry free

Remember, our wood toys contain no nasty chemicals. We thought you would be interested in this article and site to check out unsafe toys.

Albany, N.Y. -- A new survey finds that about a third of popular toys on sale this holiday season have significant levels of toxic chemicals.

Researchers for the Just Green Partnership -- a coalition of children's safety, public health and environmental groups -- tested more than 1,500 toys and found one in three contained medium or high levels of chemicals such as lead, cadmium and arsenic.

Lead was detected in 20 percent of the toys, and the group says levels in some far exceed the 600 parts-per-million standard set by the federal government for a recall.

Children's jewelry was the most contaminated product category,with items marketed by Disney and Christmas Tree Shops topping the group's "worst toys" list.

A full list of the toys is available online atHealthyToys.org

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserve

Amazon new packing materials standards

Amazon is issuing new standards for packing and packaging.No more impossible to open blister cards with twist ties and staples. WEE-ORGANICS has always used;recyclable paper to pack our toys,soy ink to print our advertising cards and we even put flower and tree seed packs in every shipment. Using natural products is environmentally friendly and teaches our children wee-care. Plastics take years to dissolve and as they do the nasty chemicals are absorbed into our environment. Our children handle them and possibly ingest some of these damaging chemicals. It makes sense and is morally our responsibility to use and offer you only natural products.

Grammie and Grampy
GOOD FOLKS GOOD THINGS

recipes

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Sesame Street Silly Snacks":

Thanks for posting great recipes, especially these Sesame Street Silly Snacks. I look forward to more recipes!

Grandparents and grandkids-Between Generations

Our children are 38 and 40 and still love to hear 90 year old GGS',great grams,stories.Holidays are the perfect time to share your successes and failures with your grandchildren.GG talks about the depression and all the similarities of today. Most of all, she talks about the way they came through it and not to be scared. Lillian Carson,author of THE ESSENTIAL GRANDPARENT says,"sharing family history can have the added benefit of motivating youngsters toward success,once they hear the struggles their ancestors have overcome.Grandparents can tell stories that connect the grandchildren to their history and culture and inform them that they belong to something greater than themselves-they belong to something that has roots" This Thanksgiving you may have the opportunity to:share your stories,show photos from earlier years,teach culture in a tangible way-with language lessons or Old World recipes,include grandchildren in preparations,talk about love and life. You are part of their legacy-dont hold back.
Grammie and Grampy

Loves the WEE Lees Truck

Hey Wees, Colton finally got his new truck and he hasn't put it down since. He just loves it. I love it because it is bigger than I thought! His little hands are just perfect for this truck!! Can't wait to order more!! Love it and your ideas! Dina

Loves the WEE Lees Truck

Hey Wees, Colton finally got his new truck and he hasn't put it down since. He just loves it. I love it because it is bigger than I thought! His little hands are just perfect for this truck!! Can't wait to order more!! Love it and your ideas! Dina

Sesame Street Silly Snacks

The name of the book is 'COOKING WITH KIDS' and it stars Elmo, Oscar,and Big Bird. Grammie likes cooking with Mae,6, and Colton,4, when they come to visit. Here are some excerpts from the book to get you started.
"For children,seeing a muffin rise in the oven or fruit juice turn into a frozen pop is not only educational and entertaining, it's magical. Most kids love to cook, and they love to eat what they helped to make even more [ yes, including veggies]
Safey First--make sure that each child has a space of his or her own to work. It should be away from hot stoves and pans, as well as knives and other sharp objects.Never leave a child unsupervised in the kitchen. Make sure kids understand safety rules and that they know only a grown up should use the stove, electric equipment or sharp knives...make sure all the helpers wash their hands before beginning to cook. Start with a clean kitchen and keep counters clean from clutter.Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly..Work slowly on one thing at a time.And it makes a mess but the memories you make will last a lifetime." ENJOY

collectible wood toys made in vermont

wee-organics wood toys made in Vermont are collectibles. They are gathered over the years and become family heirlooms;handed down from one generation to another.They do not get thrown away,therefore, they actually reduce the risks to the environment. Plastic toys, some made with nasty chemical, are normally discarded. Statistics have proven that certain plastics take 20-25 years to dissolve and as they dissolve they are leaching toxic chemicals into our environment.
visit www.wee-organics.com and see wood toys that are environmentally friendly.
Sharen and Ed
good folks good things

simple turkey day crafts

How do we keep the grand kids busy if they visit during the Thanksgiving holiday? Our children, Jeff 38 and Kim 40, like to stay home with their kids on Christmas. They prefer seeing the grand folks, us, around Thanksgiving. They like to go out at night,as they have the built in baby sitters; so we need to keep the kids busy. We found a cute craft you may like called "simple turkey day crafts" you can find at parents.com. Just wanted to pass this along to help you.

until it's bedtime.
Grammie and Grampy
"good folks good things"

grammie and grampy wood toys made in Vermont

Grammie and grampy wood toys made in Vermont are all hand-crafted and finished. WEE-ORGANICS crafters hand rub each toy with a natural oil which is FDA approved. Each toy is non-toxic, free of nasty chemicals and meet or exceed government standards for child safety.

Sharen and Ed invite you to enjoy our web store at wee-organics.com

"good folks good things"

historic election day for all of us

Wee-organics is busy making wood toys with today being the most historic election day in America.

Sharen and i ran out to vote and the lines were wonderful. Seeing so many people exercising their rights was a confirmation. No matter who wins today, this is America ... no other country like us in the world.

Keep the faith.

Sharen and Ed
"good folks good things"

Safe wood toys made in America for Halloween

Grammie and Grampy gave away some of our wood toys made in Vermont for Halloween. These toys meet or exceed government safety standards.

Grandparents especially loved them..."wow, no lead, no nasty chemicals ... we love them"..."that's what I am giving my kids."

Tractors and cars we call WEELEES, teething rings we call WEE-GUMMIES and puzzles we call WEE-ZZLES, all were a big hit.

WEE-ORGANICS continues to make heirloom wood toys for our kids and yours.

Grammie and Grampy
"good folks good things"

halloween and grandparents.com

Halloween is a great time to introduce children to crafts. As we know, crafts teach them many things ... patience, dexterity, sharing, and the gift of time. Spending time with them is one of the most important gifts we can give our kids.

Wee-Organics have seen some great articles on crafts and more for Halloween in grandparents.com.

Have fun and stay safe.

"good folks good things"

What does ORGANIC really mean?

What does ORGANIC really mean?

The word "organic" is an adjective that "describes and relates to foods produced without the use of laboratory-made products." [Webster]

It was used originally to "relate to living things, natural." Farm products grown without chemicals and pesticides are known to be "organically grown."

Now, as we are a more concerned community, we want healthier more environmentally friendly organic toys for our children. WEE-ORGANICS products enhance the ecological balance of natural systems by only using natural non-toxic wood, stains and FDA approved oil for finishing. Our toys reduce the threat of allergic reactions and other serious conditions sometimes attributed to petroleum based plastic products.

Wee-Organics, no toxic chemicals, no carcinogenic pesticides ... just NATURAL!

"good folks good things"

grandparents-growing old together

        Are you tooooo busy with grandkids these days. i have just spoken to Don, my good friend from high school, "Eddie, we are so busy with the grandkids schedule we have no time to see our friends". Years ago when Sharen and i were growing our family , we lost touch with our old friends. As the kids grew more independent we rekindled our friendships. Now we find ourselves in the same positon: scheduling our lives around grandkids activities. NO, we dont regret or resent it, we are having a blast...but we find that we have to sometimes say "NO, cant do it , we need time for ourselves" I feel it is ok to say "no" once in a while. If we dont then we might begin to lose our own lives "growing old together" .         grammie and grampy            are still            Sharen and Ed

wee-organics.. wood toys using only Natural Oils

wee-organics uses NaturOil, circa 1850, to rub on and finish our natural wood toys.NaturOil cleans wood and prevents drying and cracking.This specially blended natural oil is a blend of pure oils that do not contain any dyes, perfumes or additives. Our oil is FDA APPROVED and contains no peanut oils.

consumer products safety commission

just wanted to give you some information to check for toy recalls

go to
consumer products safety commission


cpsc.gov

it will prompt you to review all the latest toy recalls

WEE-ORGANICS want to keep all our kids safe

your opinion please--natural or painted

wee-organics uses the finest natural oil to finish all our products.This finish is hand rubbed and it exceeds government safety standards. It creates a beautiful wood finish and has an heirloom appearance. Some of you have been asking for more "painted" products and we would like to know your opinion. Our paints, or stains as they are called, are water based non-toxic and again exceed regulations.
So, what do you think? Should we continue adding the wood finish products or should we add some "stained" products?
thanks so much for your input. WEE just want to be the best for you.

wee-organics Vermont made wood toys--exceed government standards

wee-organics Vermont made wood toys--exceed government standards

You can be comforted to know WEE-ORGANICS toys exceed all government standards for safety. WEE use water base non-toxic paints, cotton pull cords and natural oils. Our Vermont wood crafters have years of experience in cutting and properly sanding every wood toy WEE produce.

safe wood toys for Christmas--wee-organics.com

WEE-ORGANICS is sharpening tools and making sawdust for the Christmas season.
Our factory, in Vermont, has experienced woodcrafters that take care with finishing and safely applying the natural oils for our children.You can Be sure all our paints are water based and completely safe. WEE look forward to sending you our fine wood toys and a few nice surprises in our shipping box.

wood toys we painted while it rained

Oh, it rained in the Berkshires the last few days and we had three kids,, 15 months,Spencer, Colton, 5, and Mae 7. So what do grammie and grampy do with this group. Well, we started at 6;30 am with breakfast and some cartoons. We had a slight break in the weather, so we got out for a walk to the beautiful waterfall close to our room. Spenc wanted to walk so thankfully that took more time. The two older ones were so attentive to him , it really was cute.
We went inside when it rained and got out some WEE-ORGANIC toys. They painted them--they decorated them with sequins and glue. We recommend to grandparents:never go anywhere with the kids without and bundle of tricks if it rains!!

Apple picking in the Berkshires during the Wall Street problems

Our family planned our annual trip to the Berkshires for apple picking, not knowing that Wall Street would have a disasterous week. Jeff, out son, is a stock broker , kept his cool and stayed with us. He continued to be on the phone all day taking care of business. We had a wonderful time and learned a good lesson; stay cool under pressure ...enjoy life as it comes. Take some deep breaths.

wee-organics wood toy launch

WEE-ORGANICS will be offering safe wood toys made in Vermont in the next few weeks. WEE have teething rings, trucks and tractors, puzzles, pull toys and more. WEE will be offering you discounts on "bundles of toys", so when you buy more than one of a group you save !!!

Wee Organics Web Site: Coming Soon

Stay tuned for our official Web site launch.

Hand made in Vermont with care. WEE products goes from forest to finished product incorporating generations of forestry stewards and Vermont woodworkers. WEE use native Vermont hardwoods and softwoods including maple, birch, cherry oak, ash, aspen, and pine. Lumber comes from timberland which is managed for a sustainable crop and supplemented with local pine and hardwoods.