New Kitties

I've been up since 6 AM so why am I just now posting to this blog? Well, actually, between cleaning up after the dogs, weeding and watering, feeding the birds and doing litter boxes, I haven't had breakfast and it is now 1:30 in the afternoon. And I had a bazillion other things to do which have all been checked off my To-Do List. Now I get to blog then do some scrapbooking. I may even get in a little reading before it is time to begin cooking dinner. Yay!!!

Anyway, back in February, our dog Toby was bitten by a very nasty spider which infected a joint in his leg. We ended up having to have the leg opened and drained so we were at the vets every few days for a month. During one of our visits, the Utah Animal Adoption Center brought in a van full of animals to be checked and fixed. The Vet Techs were swamped so I lent a hand by helping with the intake exams, weights and forms. One pet carrier contained two 6 month old kittens who happened to be littermates. They were so sweet and had been rescued just moments before they were to be euthanized. My heart melted and I just had to have them so I adopted them.

I won't go into too much detail but the first 2 months were a real trial. They had been exposed to a really bad respiratory thing but didn't show symptoms until after they were introduced to Bailey & Thaddeus so I nursed 4 very sick cats for several weeks. They had spent their entire lives in a cage so they were terrified of being on the loose, couldn't climb or jump, could not negotiate stairs and they had never been nose to nose with a dog let alone two of them. I handled it all, the eye and nose wiping, the pilling, the force feeding and the refereeing and I did it all with only one hand. What some of us will do for our animals!

Everyone is now happy, healthy and well adjusted and I can't imagine a life without them. So without further adieu, here are the girls.

This is Snowflake, who is super tiny even now at 11 months old. And she has a gray letter "K" on her head! She was meant for me even if she does think she's a princess.This is Maddie who now weighs nearly as much as the boys do. Obviously her favorite pasttime is eating and then beating up her toy mice when she isn't trying to beat up all the boys.
I put a bird feeder right outside of this kitchen window so here is the whole gang watching The Kitty Food Network. From left to right is Snowflake, Thaddeus Kosiuszko, Maddie and Bailey.

Til next time...

I'm Baaaaack!

Didn't mean to be gone this long. The hand took several months to heal, which I expected, but then I got involved with a bunch of other things. Since I wasn't using it, I decided that it was the perfect time to have the craft room reorganized. I just love Ikea! I also rescued and adopted two 6 month old girl kitties. After 33 years of being the only female in a nearly all male household (husband, father-in-law, sons, dogs and cats) I finally have my girls. What a totally different dynamic! I have also managed to do some stamping, scrapbooking, gardening and house hunting. And in 2 weeks I'll be able to reveal my latest endeavor.

I plan to start posting almost daily now. I have so many photos to share of the girls (as well as the boys) the craft room, my work, the garden and I may even post about some of the homes we've seen. Here are a few shots of the hand, post surgery.











I was fine when they took out all the stitches until I looked down and saw the pins sticking out. Then I was OK until I saw the Xrays and could see where the pins went. After they removed the stitches I got to wear the nifty little cast with the pins STILL in my thumb joints. Ack!!
Finally the pins were removed and I could really start healing.

Til next time...

Fourth Day of Christmas and New Year Wishes

Today is the Fourth Day of Christmas. I had planned on doing tags for each day but all I've managed to get done is Day 1 and that never got photographed or posted. The fact is, I have been having so much fun with my family and friends that I just haven't had the time or the desire to stamp or blog.
I have done some reflecting and can see how blessed I am to have such a wonderful husband, children, family and friends as well as the gift of laughter. No matter how tough things get, there is always some humor to be found. So if I don't post again for a while I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year and a 2010 filled with laughter.

Til next time...

It's almost here!

It's 6 AM on Christmas Eve as I type
this. We are having our big family dinner and gift exchange today because our oldest son is a chef and will be working tomorrow. I can't wait to see my husband's expression when he discovers the big surprise I have for him. I am so excited! And NO, all you comedians out there, I am NOT pregnant!

Here are the last of this years cards. This first group features stamps from Waltzingmouse. Upper left: cardstock & ink from StampinUp; paper from Basic Gray; Cuttlebug dotted swiss and holly border embossing folders; icycle border punch from martha Stewart. I began the center piece by stamping the Waltzing mouse Labels4 stamp onto Craft-a-Board, stamping the sentiment inside, cutting and embossing with Spellbinders Labels Four die, dusting the edge with pale green ink then glue and finally adding the Twinklets Diamond Dust. The icicles were also coated in glue and Diamond Dust.
Center Right: Stamps from Waltzingmouse; paper by Basic Gray; Cardstock & ink by StampinUp; Spellbinders Star die; Craft-a-Board; Tsukineko Frost White All Purpose Ink; ribbon & button from stash.
Bottom Left: paper & lace from Webster's Pages; ribbon from Ellen Hutson; cardstock & ink by StampinUp; stamps by Waltzingmouse; Gold embossing powder from JudiKins; Prismacolor markers; Peeled Paint Distress Ink.

This final group were all inspired by Ellen Hutson and use paper and trims from Webster's Pages and cards with matching envelopes from Memory Box. Additional products used (clockwise from upper left): Angel Stamp unknown, sentiment from Papertrey Ink, ink from StampinUp; Joy to You stamp from Hero Arts, Bramble Wreath from Memory Box, ink & cardstock from StampinUp, Stickles Glitter Glue, Distress Ink, Spellbinders Labels Three; Peace from PSX, cardstock, ribbon & ink from StampinUp, border punch from Fiskars, Glitter by Stampendous, Spellbinders Labels Five die, Distress Ink; Doves stamp by PSX stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Prismacolor markers and a white gel pen, Stickles Glitter Glue, Spellbinders Deckled Rectangles die. Both the Angel and Dove cards also have a border drawn with a Prismacolor Metallic Gold marker.

I hope to be able to post my 12 Days of Christmas Tags starting with Day One tomorrow but I'm not making any promises. The plan is to use my Slice and the Mistletoe Design Card as well as leftover papers and trims, various glitters and Tim Holtz finishes to commemorate each day from Christmas to Epiphany. Let's see if Life cooperates.

Wishing you all a very Merry, Peaceful and Blessed Christmas.

Til next time...

Laid Back Christmas

I've taken things very slow and easy this year. I saw no point in making my hands hurt worse than they do so I eliminated many things from the schedule and really enjoyed the things I did manage to do. One of the things I really enjoyed was making my Christmas cards. I only made 2 a day and didn't stress over them. They became the highlight of my Christmas preparations - that and online shopping.
In this first group, the upper left card was made with paper from American Crafts; cardstock, ribbon, ink and ornament stamps by StampinUp; Cuttlebug border embossing folder; Label 4 stamp and sentiment by Waltzingmouse Stamps; Spellbinder's Label 4 die; gold thread.
The bottom left card uses paper from Cosmo Cricket; cardstock, stamps, ink, paper punches and label die by StampinUp; Cuttlebug embossing folder; gold thread; All Purpose Ink in Champagne Mist by Tsukineko.
The final card in this group features a frame cut from Ellen Hutson's Craft-a-Board using a Spellbinder's die which was then sponged with Champagne Mist All Purpose Ink. The deer is a stamp from All Night Media that I have had for years. Other products used were: embossing folder, cardstock, ink, and sentiment from StampinUp; paper from Basic Gray; ribbon from stash.

In this second group, starting with the card on the left, I have a very quick and easy card made using paper and a matching brad from Bo Bunny Press. The cardstock, ribbon, ink, stamp, paper punch and border punch are from StampinUp and the larger scalloped circle punch is from EKSuccess.
The card on the upper right features scoring on the Scor-Pal and a buckle from a Spellbinder's die accented with a Stardust pen. Cardstock, red & green inks, stamps and ribbon are from StampinUp; Spellbinder's large and small oval dies; Antique Linen Distress Ink.
The final card in this trio uses the Dotted Swiss embossing folder from Cuttlebug; Labels Two dies from Spellbinders; Stickles Glitter Glue; Prismacolor Markers; trees from HeroArts; Memento Rich Cocoa Ink; Green Ink, sleigh, sentiment, holly border, oval punches and cardstock from StampinUp.

Til next time...

Salt Lake City, New Mexico

Strange title, I know, but there were some strange doings in Salt Lake on Saturday night. It was the Annual Christmas Luminaria Display at a Salt Lake City cemetery. We were invited to a "fun run" through the cemetery followed by food and "Holiday Cheer" at a nearby home. Sorry, but if I ever got this body to run I would end up with 2 black eyes and a possible concussion.
However, a leisurely stroll with camera in hand seemed quite reasonable and there would be assorted spirits of another kind at the other end so off we went.

Traipsing through the snow, trying to photograph thousands of glowing bags in the cold, foggy dark without functioning opposable thumbs was an adventure in and of itself. Our laughter seemed downright sacrilegious at times with Christopher hopping around, trying not to "step on anyone". In between our giggles, it was eerily quiet, especially when you consider that this cemetery is sandwiched between 2 somewhat major thoroughfares and there were cars driving through to see the spectacle. To look out and see row after row of flickering candles glowing through the foggy dark was awe inspiring. I can only imagine how incredible it would look on a clear night.

These photos cannot begin to convey the peace, tranquility and sacredness we felt there. Forget the tree, the decorations, the gifts and all the chaos that is now associated with Christmas. The real Christmas was in a cemetery on a cold, dark, foggy Saturday night.

Til next time...