Every once in a while all of us come across a great product or service that we are absolutely thrilled about. It may be the quality of the product or on rare occasions, the quality and price!! You know what I'm talking about. The products or services that you tell your Mom or Dad about during your weekly phone calls. It may be an item you bought for your home that catches the eye of nearly all your guests or a great service you get for an unbelievable price. It may be something that works just like the seller said it would!! It just doesn't seem that these things come along that often anymore, and I know that I appreciate it when someone recommends them to me. Seeing as I am paying for this website anyway, thought I might as well pass along information on products or services that I have purchased and with which I am 100% satisfied. These will be "Special" things....the ones where you say to yourself , "How can they make that or do that for such a low price?" It won't be easy to get your name on this page. I have nothing to gain except the confidence of those who visit my website and customers.

1) WWW.ANIMAL-BIRD-FISH-WOODBURNING.COM

Several years ago, when my wife and I were looking for items to decorate our new home on the lake, "Camp Over The Rainbows," I was searching Ebay to see if I could get not only a bargain, but some ideas on what was out there. I'm not one to go shopping in stores, so Ebay appeals to me. Many small time, home businesses sell their products there. Sometimes you can find hidden gems. Eleanor Rickey is just such an artisan. My first purchase from her was an ornament made from a thin cross-section of wood. On this 4 or 5 inch round and smooth piece of wood with the bark still on the outer edge, Eleanor had put a representation of a rainbow trout chasing a fisherman's fly with a woodburning tool. Then, using oil pencils, she painted the rainbow trout and fly with great detail and accuracy. When I opened that first ornament, I couldn't believe my eyes. How could this person produce such a beautiful product for such a modest price. And, not like other sellers I have dealt with on Ebay, she also didn't try to rip me off on the packaging and handling. Sure, they will sell the item to you for peanuts and then charge you an arm and a leg to receive it!! Eleanor had placed a nice note in the small package she sent to me and let me know about other items she could make. I was looking for a wood sign to place at the front of my driveway. Just about all the camps on the lake that looked like you had to be a millionaire to own had handmade signs with their name, address, and the name of their camp. So I found a contour map of the lake in a book, copied it and sent that to Eleanor. I asked her to woodburn a rainbow trout, an osprey, and a loon (3 of my favorite animals at the lake). Also I asked her to place the names of all the different species of fish that could be found in the lake. All this would be placed on a pine board large enough so that it could be easily seen and read by someone passing by on foot or in a car. We emailed back and forth several times about the sign. She presented sizes and designs and I either agreed or we changed them. Once we both were satisfied with the design, we then agreed on a price. Now, I have to tell you something. I couldn't have gone to Walmart and bought a mass produced sign about a chipmunk crossing for the price I paid for this original and one of a kind sign. I figured it would take her months to complete the project. It didn't. I also didn't have high expectations on what it would look like....it was one of the first products she ever created to be used outside in all kinds of weather. When I received it, I was tempted to mount it over my fireplace mantel. It was that gorgeous!!! I see people stopping to look at the sign all the time. It puts all those millionaire signs to shame. LOL People must think that my rather plain looking camp on the outside must be something pretty awesome on the inside LOL. The sign has now been outside for several years. The first winter I took it down and displayed it indoors. Now I leave it outside and it looks just as good as those sprouting new leaves, the returning osprey and loons, and the disappearance of the ice on the lake the following Spring!!

I then asked Eleanor if she could do ornaments with other animals on them. She said that she thought she could. I began to email her the name of any new animal that I saw on walks or while I was out fishing. She would produce the ornament and then email me a photo of it for my approval prior to shipping. Believe me..her work is stunning...I never have turned one down! Rather than use them as ornaments, I began placing them on the knotty pine trim board where my walls meet the cathedral ceiling. I would wait until I had several so I could space them properly. I have now place them along three walls, probably close to 100 different animals. I have actually run out of new animals for her to do. Oh my, I still have one more wall that I would like to do!! I am getting into the names of insects now LOL. I wish you could see my camp. The ornaments look like a wallpaper border. I have received so many compliments on these ornaments and my creativiity. To this very day, I still admire those ornaments and look at them regularly. I can't even guess how much they have increased the value of my camp. They have added so much to that Adirondack Camp Style look that I was after, but nobody else has them.

I also had Eleanor Rickey make several other items with rainbow trout and the name of our camp. A coat rack, a towel rack for the bathroom, a large plaque under my kichen cabinets, etc. Oh I forgot to tell you, I also sent her photographs of our pet dog and cat....Nikki and Roo. She woodburned and painted their pictures on them!!!! They look fantastic and they will last forever.

As a special bonus, you will never deal with a more pleasant person that is so willing to please and communicate fully with you. There are only two reasons why I hesitate to endorse her.

First, if she is doing work for you, I am afraid she won't have time to fill my requests. And second, I hope that Eleanor doesn't get so much business that it creates stress in her life.

Once again, the website is www.animal-bird-fish-woodburning.com. And I am pretty sure she wouldn't mind receiving an email from you. Her address is erwoodnart@copper.net. I guarantee you won't be disappointed or broke.