Crazy Stamp Lady

Boy have I been negligent

2010-02-11T13:18:00.005-05:00

It has been so long since I have been on here that I don't even remember how to post pictures. I guess I will have to relearn that. I do have a few new ones. Not too many. I must confess that I get wrapped up playing games on Facebook. They are so addicting.

I think I got it. I must be better about new posts. Dennis has been writing his memoirs. I wish we had a laptop because he takes a really long time to type. Oh well, maybe someday.

He had a laptop that our daughter gave him but something happened to it and it won't load now. I don't know if it can be salvaged or not.

Time to go get some cards done.

Oh boy

2010-01-09T13:29:00.002-05:00

I cannot believe I have not written or posted anything new to this since October! Shame on me. I do have some new cards to post as well. I hope to do that soon. I am so into farming on FB that I have let other things I enjoy doing by the way side. Today I am working on getting my missions stuff organized for church. I also need to make a sympathy card for my sister-in-law. She lost her mom this week.

For the most part we had good holidays. Joy and family spent a lot of time with us when they were off school and work. The girls spent the night with us and that is fun. I love that I am able to have them close enough to be able to do that. We are so blessed now that they live here instead of IL. I would miss them terribly if they moved back. Both Jeff and Joy help us out so much.

I am not going to say anything about our son and family. It is very hard to be so separated from them and it breaks my heart. This is an important prayer point.

I hope to be back soon to post some pictures.

A Very Chilly Week

2009-10-14T10:31:00.002-04:00

It is really chilly here. It has been cold and rainy for the better part of a week. It is almost 11 AM and it is only 39 right now.

I have been very busy farming on FB. I also have fish tanks and a cafe. It is all a lot of fun for me. I worked 42 years so that when I retired I could do what I wanted. I have arrived! :) I also have made some cards. You can see them here. I have lost 11 pounds since May. It is not much but it is all I did so far. I have sort of slipped up the last couple of weeks and I have to get back to watching closer what I am eating.

Here are the cards I made in September. They are not all I made because I made several of the anniversary card with different colors. Right now I am working on Thanksgiving cards. I have card club on Saturday when we swap. I am looking forward to it. We don't all go to the same church any more so I don't see my friends as often. Our numbers have dwindled since I first started. At one point, we had 10 people and sometimes more attending. Now we are down to 3 or 4. I wish there were more and I wish some of the LW ladies would be interested in card making. It can be a real ministry.

Off to get some more cards done. Have a great day.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

2009-09-11T14:40:00.001-04:00

THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER
This one is a little different...
Two Different Versions! .................
Two Different Morals!

OLD VERSION: The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a
video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing,
'It's Not Easy Being Green.'

Acorn stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house
where the news stations film the group singing, 'We shall overcome.'
Rev. Jeremiah Wright then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back
of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ants food while the government house
he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident
and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders
who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

Here are my cards from August 09

2009-09-10T20:36:00.002-04:00

A long time

2009-09-10T16:53:00.007-04:00

It has been more than a month since I posted anything. I have a new addiction. Farmtown on Facebook. I have a great looking farm. I am working on it as a memorial to my dad. He was a farmer at heart.

I am still making cards. One of the problems I have is remembering to take a picture so I can post them on my blog.

My dad and mom's house is now on the market.
My brother and sister from the Grand Rapids area really worked hard and got it all cleaned out and staged to sell. My brother and sister-in-law from IL went up and helped too. Dennis and I only went up and helped once. I wish it could have been more. I think we would have been in the way. We are restricted physically with what we can do. They did a fantastic job. Now we are in a praying mode that the house will sell and make enough money to take care of my mom. On Labor Day week-end we went north for a family reunion. There was only 81 people there. After the reunion we went north and saw the house one last time. We also went out to the cemetary.
We had not been there since the funeral. It was really really hard to go there without dad knowing that chapter of life is over after 25 years living there. We had some great memories of our times visiting with dad and mom in the north house.

Dennis has been working very hard cleaning out the mess in the basement that Mark left. He has thrown a ton of stuff away. It probably would have saved money to just rent a dumpster instead of buying so many trash bags! He is about 2/3 done. I can't even get down there to see what it looks like. I can get down but it is nearly impossible for me to get back up. I am paranoid about falling up those stairs. That is how I messed up my shoulders in the first place.

I will be able to post pictures of my cards soon.

July Cards.

2009-08-05T21:28:00.003-04:00

Here are most of the cards I made in July. There were a few that I forgot to take pictures of. I am running behind on getting them made so I forget to take pictures.

I am sitting with my grandaughters tonight and tomorrow. They are 9 and 7 now so they really aren't much trouble. I kind of like having them around. Dennis and Joy went down to the Tiger game. I don't even know if they are winning, losing or if they are still playing. I am getting weary so I think I am going to go to bed and read.

I did manage to go use some of the machines at therapy. I rode the bike for 2 mi. in 12 min. not great but I did it. I also rode the arm bike for 10 min.

FINALLY

2009-08-03T22:28:00.002-04:00

I got my new system today. It seemed like it took forever for Dell to send the replacement but now I am happy again. A friend of ours just came over and was able to get my files off of the hard drive so I didn't lose contacts, pictures, etc.

It is late tonight so I must get to bed. Tomorrow I will have the fun of loading my programs back on to this machine and packing up the old one to send back to Dell.

Monday That Feels Like Tuesday

2009-07-06T10:49:00.002-04:00

When I got up this morning it felt like Tuesday to me. Don't ask me what happened to Monday. I guess I just skipped it. We were dogsitting again over the weekend. This time it was for our daughter's dog. He is huge. He is a husky/lab mix. He makes our medium size dog look small! When he laid down in the living room, we hardly had any room to walk around! :)

We went to church yesterday. We tried a different one again this week. The pastor was gone so we had a fill-in. We knew him from other places and we enjoyed the sermon. I doubt we will go to church there. Neither one of us felt comfortable there. These older traditional churches seem dead to us. There is rarely younger married couples or children to make it seem alive. The music is played so slow. I don't mind singing hymns but why do they drag so.

I don't have any big plans for this week except to make more cards. We also have to go over our bills and see what we can pay. That is not a job I like especially when there is no money.

Our doggy sitting

2009-07-01T16:22:00.003-04:00

We spent the last two days taking care of a friend's dog. The black and white one is our Miriam. The yellow one on Dennis' lap is Rebel. They got along really well. In fact I wanted to trade my yellow cat for their yellow dog!

I actually left the house this morning

2009-06-26T14:55:00.002-04:00

I was craving a donut or bagel so bad this morning. I went ahead and got dressed and went out. Dennis and I needed to go get a few things at Kroger and I told him if he would take me to Horton's I would go with him to the store. That worked! Before we left I called my friend, Nancy. I am so glad I called. They had a fire in their family room this morning. The room has windows blown out and every thing covered with smoke and water. Landy got it out before the fire dept. got there thank goodness they weren't seriously hurt. They both inhaled enough smoke that they we were having a difficult time breathing. Nancy's eyes were red. I told them they should get out of there and breathe some clean AC air so they met us at Horton's for a little while. Since I believe in guardian angels and God's care I am so thankful they are ok. The insurance company can take care of the damage.

The most wonderful surprise

2009-06-24T09:23:00.002-04:00

We got a call on Monday night from a dear family friend. They wanted to come by. It was 8:30 and that was no problem. We told them to come on over we weren't really doing anything. Nancy was carrying a Red Wing bag. I thought that was neat. Then she gave me a card. It was a gorgeous anniversary card. She gave me the bag. Inside was a quilt she had made. It is gorgeous. I absolutely love it. I told Dennis we need to find some way to get the bedroom painted so it would really look nice. Words will not be able to express our thanks to them.

Sunday June 21 Dad's Day

2009-06-21T09:15:00.005-04:00

Today is the first Dad's Day without my dad.

I have had several blows to my mental well being this week. It has been so bad I haven't even felt like making cards. Hard to believe but it is true. I haven't slept well this week. I know that I fret about things that I cannot do anything about. Why? I wish I knew. We have some financial things going on. We had some expenses that we should have planned for better but what is done is done. We had some car repairs that cost more than we thought they would. Our debt program doesn't end until August 2011! It sounds impossible. I sure hope we can make the car last that long.

Mark had a temporary custody hearing this week but the judge has forced them into mediation. This is going to cost extra money for Mark. I don't think it will do any good either. The sooner this is over the better as far as I am concerned. For Mark to get on with his life it needs to be over. Today is for dad's and he probably won't even be able to see his son. Yes, I am angry.

I did have a good week with my Mom here. I was glad she came. I hope we can talk her into coming again. I think if we didn't have our cats she would come more often. We got a chance to visit with some family, old friends and even went to a patriotic concert.

We are going to visit a different church this morning. I am happy where we are but Dennis isn't. I told him I would go try it this morning. Why is it so hard to find a church? I told him we could go to my church in the morning and where he would like at night. Not a very practical idea I am afraid.

Chilly Tuesday

2009-06-02T14:27:00.002-04:00

I have not written in a while. I have not much felt like it. I attended my 3rd funeral in 4 weeks. It is all so sad. Since I lost my dad, I have a hard time going to funerals and the funeral home.

On a better note, I was able to attend an open house for Jesse Pipe and Christopher Taylor. I had these kids when they were in my AWANA Sparks. I am really feeling old. The young men have grown to be fine Christian men.

I have made a few cards recently but I did not take pictures. I need to remember to take pictures better.

We did have a great family reunion on Memorial Day weekend. When I get some pictures from my sister-in-law I will post some here.

I need to go catch up on some letter writing (email of course)!

Cards of the week

2009-05-13T18:32:00.002-04:00

Here are some cards I made in the last week. My house is a mess but I did get my cards done for my card club on Sat. They are the ones that are red white and blue.

Sad News

2009-05-13T13:15:00.002-04:00

I learned this morning about a dear friend that passed away yesterday morning. His name is Vaughn. His family and our family have been friends for many, many years. His oldest daughter was my best friend growing up. My sister married his son. His wife, Bess, used to come with us to our families' ladies week-end. It is sad but the good news is he knew the Lord. He is now in heaven visiting with the friends of ours that have passed on before us including my dad. We will grieve for a season but have the blessed hope that we will see him again some day.

Hectic

2009-04-29T13:15:00.002-04:00

It is hard to believe that we get so busy. I wonder sometimes how in the world we found time to work! We had our grandgirls for an overnight on Friday. Our Lilli had a hard time going to sleep. She missed her mom a lot I guess. Saturday Dennis took them to the Children's Concert series at the DSO. I guess they had a good time. When they got home from that, I took them to lunch and then to get manicures. It is always fun watching them and seeing what color polish they will choose.

We hit a jackpot week - NO Dr. Appts. That is a rarity for us. It seems like one of us is always going to the doctor or dentist.

Dennis is out golfing today although it is chilly. It is 1:30 and it is only 55. This past week-end it was over 80. I guess it is just the crazy Michigan weather.

I have been busy making cards. If I can figure out how to get them to my blog I will do a slide show of them. No other news from here. Back to my passion!

Tax Day

2009-04-15T16:46:00.002-04:00

Today is the day when taxes have to be filed. I am glad we paid ours in Feb. There wouldn't be enough money now to pay what we owed. I really don't like having to do them. It helps to have the computer to do them.

Tomorrow we are going up to see my Mom and visit for a bit. We haven't seen her since January. I can't believe we are so busy that we can't even find time to make a day trip to Middlevile.

I got most of my new stamps put away. They are numbered and cataloged. I only have two sets left to do. I know I have birthday cards to do so I should get busy on that.

Will You Dance with Me?

2009-03-30T09:29:00.000-04:00

READ THIS VERY SLOWLY....
IT'S PRETTY PROFOUND.

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, 'How about going to lunch in a half hour? She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain...' And my personal favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet... We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'

W hen anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Roller blades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord..

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-Decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now....go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Make sure you read this to the end; you will under stand why I sent this to you.

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butter fly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask ' How are you?' Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift.......Thrown away..... Life is not a race Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over..

It's National Friendship Week.. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND. If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

To those I have sent this to.... I cherish our friendship and appreciate all you do.

'Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!

2009-03-28T12:53:00.002-04:00

It doesn't hurt to have a little Biblical humor to start the day....
Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he married Ruth?
A. Ruthless.

Q. What do they call pastors in Germany?
A. German Shepherds.

Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
A. Noah He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.

Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
A. Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a Little Prophet.

Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible?
A. Jehovah drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury. David's Triumph
was heard throughout the land. Also, probably a Honda, because the apostles
were all in one Accord.

Q. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
A. Samson. He brought the house down.

Q. What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden ?
A. Your mother ate us out of house and home.

Q. Which servant of God was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the Bible?
A. Moses. He broke all 10 commandments at once.

Q. Which area of Palestine was especially wealthy?
A. The area around Jordan. The banks were always overflowing.

Q. Who is the greatest babysitter mentioned in the Bible?
A. David He rocked Goliath to a very deep sleep.

Q. Which Bible character had no parents?
A. Joshua, son of Nun.

Q. Why didn't they play cards on the Ark ?
A. Because Noah was standing on the deck. (.)

PS... Did you know it's a sin for a woman to make coffee?
Yup, it's in the Bible. It says . . 'He-brews'

KEEP SMILING!!!! GOD LOVES YOU BUNCHES AND BUNCHES!!!!
Friends are God's way of taking care of us.

Faith, Hope & Love -- but the greatest of these is LOVE. 1 Corinthians13:13

Done, Done (Almost)

2009-03-18T13:56:00.002-04:00

I went back to the endodontist this morning and finished the root canal stuff. Now I have to call the dentist and set up an appt to have the tooth built up and a cap put on it. That means more hours in a chair. And more pain - I hate those shots.

I got my replacement phone and Kindle yesterday. I am back to everything working. I do have to get some more things done before I can read some more in my book. Card club is here on Sat. Friday is going to be spent cleaning. Dennis and Mark are still trying to clean up with wet stuff out of the basement. We still have not discovered where the odor is coming from when you open the front door. It smells like something died. I think something - (mouse,rat) died between the walls. Yuch!! I hope it goes away before Sat. I may have to explain it away. For sure I hope it goes away before summer when it is so hot!!

Saturday

2009-03-14T10:32:00.001-04:00

We have had a miserable week at our house. First off 2 weeks ago I found that lump in my jaw 2 weeks ago. I first went to my dentist. He xrayed and couldn't find anything. The lump thing got bigger and the whole side of my face swelled. After a trip to urgent care I found out I had an abscessed tooth. I went back to the dentist last Monday. All he did was look at me and send me to the endodontist. I went to him on Wed. He re-did the root canal. The crown came off and can't be used again. It is gold. Maybe it is worth $2. I have a big hole in my mouth. The swelling is still there in spite of the fact that I am on 2 antibiotics. I go back this week for the endo guy to finish. Maybe he won't be able to because of the abscess is still there. It does make me wonder if it is something else. I am putting heat on it to try to draw it out. Not working!!

Dennis was back to his surgeon this week. His lower leg and ankle are really hurting. The dr said it may be a stress fracture. He only has this week to work and he is done. He loved his job but could not handle it any longer physically. I hope everything works out for us financially with him not working.

I need to get some cards done and think about a big project I have for April 3. I just found out that my cell phone got washed. ugh

Friday

2009-03-06T12:02:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was a day of mixed emotions for me. Mark's birthday was yesterday. He finally made an appt. with a lawyer about a divorce. He needed $750 for a retainer. He needed $250 for the filing fee. We got the money out of savings and gave it to him. We told him it was a loan. After a 3 year separation and fighting it is definitely time to move on. I am praying that he does not weaken his resolve to go thru with this. I just hope that he and Katie can get along enough so that Tyler is not used as a pawn in their games. It would have been nice to have a daughter-in-law that was respectful and a part of the family but that didn't happen. There was never a family relationship with her and Tyler. The girls don't even know their cousin Tyler. We have not ever been able to have Tyler for a few hours without her. We don't have a relationship with him either. He will be 3 on March 23.

Today is my granddaughter, Hannah's, birthday. She is 9 years old. She wanted a "fancy dinner" with her friends. We may not see her until Tues when I am watching the girls b/c they do not have school. I did make a card and sent it so hopefully she will get it tomorrow.

I have got 8 more cards to make for March. I would like to get Easter cards made. I also may be doing something for church for a silent auction. I need to get busy.

The End

2009-03-03T12:19:00.004-05:00

I have one more trip to make to the eye dr. this afternoon and I will be done with the study I have been involved in. Now I wonder -- how long will I have to wait for the check.

I have developed a sore jaw over this last week-end. I have to go to the dentist on Thurs to see if he can tell what is going on. I hope it isn't bad. I hate going to the dentist.

I have 4 cards to get done today. I am going to get hustling on that soon. I did get a couple done over the week-end.

Now I am off to get busy.

Monday

2009-02-23T12:56:00.004-05:00

The sun is shining but it is very cold here. It is suppose to be even colder tomorrow. We didn't go to church yesterday. Dennis was not in a good place emotionally and I didn't want to go out on the snowy roads and parking lot by myself. We both took a nap in our new chairs. I will be glad when we can get rid of the sleeper sofa. I do not like it. It is too big for the living room. Our plan is to move the loveseat out of Dennis' room back to the living room. To get a twin bed or a futon to put in there.

Dennis bought me a dozen beautiful roses. I discovered after taking the picture that if you want it to look like you have more flowers set them in front of a mirror and take the picture.

I have been busy taking care of some new stamps sets. I had to catalog them and make index sheets. I am almost done with that little project. I have a few more ordered. I am in need of another tower. I have been looking but I have not found one yet. Maybe if I get to IKEA I will find one there. I do need to get busy. I have 3 cards to make this week and get into the mail.

The End

2009-02-20T20:14:00.002-05:00

Jeff and Joy got back here about 5:30. They got everything loaded into their car. We then went to Cracker Barrel and had a good dinner. The girls were really tired and a bit cranky. They missed their mom and dad more than they knew. Poor Jeff was so tired with the jet lag and the stress of his mom being so sick. I hope they will all get some rest tomorrow and have some family time. I am glad Grampy got the girls laundry done for the most part before they left.

I am weary too. I canceled our card club for tomorrow. We are suppose to get 8 inches of snow tomorrow. Some of the people that normally come couldn't make it tomorrow. So we didn't have to hurry tonight to straighten up the house. We don't have a conflict with the furniture that we are having delivered tomorrow. We can spend a quieter day at home.

I am really Grumbling

2009-02-17T22:29:00.006-05:00

I have not felt well all day. I had one of the 3 times appt. for the research study I am in today. It was a bit rougher for me. Dennis went back to work so I had to keep the car and go to the dr. We have the girls so we had to get them up at 6:45 to make sure grampy got to work on time. We had about 45 min. to kill between taking Dennis to work and my appt. The only thing that made sense was to go to Tim Horton's for a donut. That is on the way to my appt. and it was better than going all the way back home and turning around and leaving again. So after donuts we went to the appt. Since Dennis wasn't with me, I had to walk all the way from the parking lot to the 6th floor. I was afraid I wasn't going to make it. By the time I got in the door I could hardly breathe. I did have an inhaler and that helped a little. When I got to the dr. my blood pressure was 158/98. This is way higher than it has ever been. I don't know if it was the walk in the cold, I forgot to take my meds, or the fact that I was so upset with ATT because my internet will not stay connected. I have been having problems for at least a month again. I am about ready to ditch ATT and go to Comcast. It is just such a hassle to change email addresses with everything. I did manage to get my prototype card made for my card swap on Sat. Here it is

Thru Day One

2009-02-16T20:12:00.002-05:00

It is 8:15 and I have one of the girls in bed and the other one ready. She is rocking with grampy right now. As fate would have it, the neighbor girl is off on spring break too. So she was here most of the day. The girls played outside but were also in. I have to figure out a way to handle this. It is not that they are bad or anything but they leave messes all over the house. Tomorrow we are going to pick up their room and try to keep it picked up. They are so messy. Dennis and I don't live like that so it bothers us. They must be related to their Uncle Bud. Messes don't bother him either.

We went out to dinner. I just plain didn't feel up to cooking. I have been hurting really bad the last few days. My shoulder wakes me up at night aching. My knee has been bothering me and I just feel weary.

The start of a new week

2009-02-15T16:17:00.002-05:00

This is going to be a fun week. Our daughter and her husband are flying to San Diego for a week to visit with her in-laws. Our grandgirls are spending the week with us. It will be fun to spend some time with them. I am planning on taking them shopping a couple of times. I am also planning on taking them out to eat at least once. I am sure that I will see plenty of art projects. They brought their WII and they have the computer they can play on.

My husband is returning to his part-time job on Tuesday. He has been off since Dec. 19 due to his knee surgery. He is only going to be working Tues and Thur instead of M W F so maybe it won't be so hard on him physically. He is still working on rehab to get his knee working again. I wish he were father along than he is but I am confident that it will continue to get better.

I have card club here next Sat so I have to get busy working on my swap cards. It will also mean trying to clean with the kids here. That will be an adventure.

Busy But Fun Week

2009-02-12T22:36:00.002-05:00

We have had a very busy week. There has been PT appointments for Dennis. There has been eye appointments for me. I broke a tooth yesterday so I had to go to the dentist today.

We also had some fun shopping for a new bigger hi-def tv. It is suppose to be delivered tomorrow. I am glad we are able to do this now. It will help Dennis see the tv better with this macular degeneration going on.

I also did some shopping on line. I am getting a Kindle. It is an electronic device that you can download books into. It only weighs 10 oz. It will not ship until March but I am excited about it.

I had a good talk with Mom tonight. She was saying how hard it was at church for her. I think she likes the church ok but when they sang a hymn they sang at Harrison it brought up memories and she lost it. I can believe it. Dad has been gone 3 months and I still think about him all the time. It still is hard to believe that he is gone.

Friday

2009-02-06T21:11:00.003-05:00

The day started this morning early. I had to be at the eye dr. for a pressure check. Then Dennis and I went to Kroger. I think we spent more today than I have ever for groceries. After we did Kroger and got all of that put away, we rested for a bit. Then we headed out to Sam's Club. We got caught up with a lot of the paper products. I like to buy them there because you can get really big packages. I also was able to get 20 bottles of vitamin water. They were cheaper than $1 a bottle that I pay at Kroger or Walmart.

I need to get going on doing our taxes. I just have to pay for the software to do them. I have all our information to do them I think.

It has been a long day and I am tired. It is off to bed for me.

Cats and Dogs

2009-02-03T11:35:00.001-05:00

To all Pet Owners:

To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - nose height.

Dear Dogs and Cats:

The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort? Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each
other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, and try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- canine or feline attendance is not required.

The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough!

To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:

To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & L ike to Complain About Our Pets:

1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it 'fur'nature.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.

Remember: In many ways, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:

1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3. Are easier to train
4. Normally come when called (well, OK, the cat thinks about it)
5. Never ask to drive the car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't have to buy the latest fashions
9. Don't want to wear your clothes
10. Don't need a 'gazillion' dollars for college.

And finally,
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children.

The Week-End is Over

2009-02-02T20:23:00.002-05:00

I had a busy week-end but it was fun hanging out and going out for a bit of shopping. I miss wandering around the stores the way I used to. Now I can't do that unless the store has an electric cart for me to ride. I hurt just too bad to shop any other way. I was able to get a few things the needed replacing in the house done. There are a few more things I would like changed and it will happen sooner or later. I have to get serious and get things sorted to do our taxes. I do it with TurboTax. It is not really hard but it does take time and I worry about making mistakes.

My hubby has not felt very good since last night. His knee has been bothering him more than it had been. His stomach is funny and tonight he has a headache. I sure hope he feels better tomorrow. We planned to go out for lunch and a movie for my birthday. We have not been to a movie in a while. Somehow it is cheaper and easier to just do "on demand".

I am going to sign off for now.

Funeral

2009-01-29T21:45:00.002-05:00

I attended the funeral today of a lady that was one of my youth sponsors at the church in Belleville where I attended as a kid. What I remember about Nancy is she always looked nice. She did do a lot of yo-yo dieting but bless her heart she was honest about it. She loved music and often was heard humming or singing. When Bill died, Nancy's health declined. She had problems with her eyes. She just wore out and wanted to leave this world for the place in heaven reserved for her by the blood of Christ. She is rejoicing now with Bill and the angels worshiping her Savior.

Mark missed work today because he wasn't feeling well. These migraines he has really knock him down. I sure hope he keeps his job so he can have insurance long enough to find out what is really going on and get the meds he needs to feel better.

A Quiet Tuesday Night

2009-01-27T19:27:00.000-05:00

I haven't gotten anything done today. I haven't felt good for a couple of weeks. I went to the dr. today and found out I have an UTI. I am also upset about our financial situation right now. With Dennis not working we are getting behind on everything. I sure hope he goes back to work soon before we get much deeper in the hole.

Tonight is American Idol. I don't know why I like this show. It is not as good as Dancing with the Stars but I do like it.

We are under a winter storm alert. What else is new? We have had a lot of snow so far this year. These things seem to go in cycles. As cold as it has been, I am having a hard time believing the "global warming" scare people.

I am really upset with Obama already. He has signed a lot of new "executive orders" which I don't understand. How can that be a balance of power if he can just do that without the Senate or House. They have passed things so that they are using embryonic stem cells for research. Don't they realize they are killing a baby every time they do that. I don't understand how women can just abort God's creation without blinking an eye. Someday people will answer a holy God about this. Yes, you can say that I am on a soap box. You bet I am and I can do that because this is my blog.

Eye Study

2009-01-22T13:08:00.002-05:00

I went to the eye dr. today and he said that I would be a perfect candidate for a glaucoma study they are doing. I do have to put drops in my eyes twice a day and go in and get pressure readings twice a day. The study lasts about a month. I will receive a small stipend. This is all contingent on good results with lab work. It does not cost me anything but time.

New Cards

2009-01-22T13:06:00.003-05:00

I put some cards on here that I have made over the past few months. Enjoy. If there is one that you like I could make you some (for a fee) or give you further details.

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T22:42:00.004-05:00

I have spent the better part of the day watching the Obama inauguration day. It is a history making event - our first black president. He made so many campaign promises that I don't see any way he can keep them all. I am afraid people are expecting too much from one man. He still has to work with congress to bring change he campaigned about. I just hope he does something to put people back to work, clean up the corrupt banking system, and keep our manufacturing base in this country. Time will tell I guess.

Great News

2009-01-18T21:06:00.003-05:00

I got a letter this week from the Social Security Admin approving my disability. I applied about a year ago but was denied last summer. I got an attorney who said I would have an appeal hearing and it could take up to 18 months. I have been waiting (not always patiently) to hear when my hearing would be. I was dreading it. The idea of court and a judge just scares me. God had a different plan. Thank you Jesus. I don't know the amount of the benefit yet but should get a letter soon.

It is becoming more apparent to me that there are quite a few things I can't do any more. My arms and and shoulders not working and my back hurting and my legs going numb make things pretty difficult. I am so thankful that Dennis helps as much as he does. It has been a struggle for us with him being laid up with his recovery from surgery. He is doing quite well and is able to do some laundry here so we don't have to go to the laundrymat. That was really really hard to do that. I wish I could afford to hire a cleaning lady to come in once a week to do the things I can't. Wishful thinking I guess.

Christmas 08

2009-01-15T22:11:00.002-05:00

2009-01-12T22:05:00.001-05:00

This is what I have been doing with some of my time. I like making snowman cards. I guess I get my inspiration from all the snow we have had of late. It seems like we have had more snow this year than in recent past. I could be wrong but it seems that way. I am glad we don't have to go out tomorrow for anything. I want to sleep in and mess around getting some more cards made tomorrow. Just to lazily sipping on some hot coffee and stamping.

Cards

2009-01-12T21:59:00.001-05:00

What a Ride

2009-01-11T18:51:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we finally had our Mosey family Christmas. The weather was horrible but it was fun getting together. We had a good turn out. The only sibling missing was sister Sue. It was our first Christmas without Dad. There were many empty feelings for me yesterday. It was hard and sad. Mom seems to be doing well.

The biggest story of the day was the weather. The forecast was calling for a "winter storm warning". Predictions of 7 or more inches came true. We got to my sister's in pretty good fashion. It took us about an hour more than usual. It normally takes about 2 1/3 hours. Coming home was a much different story. The roads were completely snow covered and slippery. You could not tell where the lanes were, shoulders, etc. It was best just to stay behind the person in front of you. This was the first time since Dennis had his surgery that he drove. I am glad he drove but I was a nervous wreck with the roads they way they were. We left Jenison about 6 and didn't get home until 11. We did stop for a short while to have a quick bite to eat. But was it worth it? You betcha. Often times it is too easy to ditch plans with family and take them for granted. I am here to tell you that family is too important. If there is an opportunity to get together, you should take it. Make the time somehow. You just never know. Who knew that when we had our family reunion in May that it would be Dad's last?

My niece and her husband with baby Lexa. It was good to see a baby in the family again. I hope by the time the reunion comes around in IL that we will meet Noah the latest addition to the family. My mother-in-law had a theory. When someone dies in the family, the next one born will be of the same gender. An example to prove this was my dad passing away and the next baby born was a boy. Does it work every time. Probably not but it is interesting to see it play out.

Mid-week

2009-01-07T20:19:00.002-05:00

I have been "busy" playing on Facebook and making cards. I have been weary the last few days. I went to the laundry mat yesterday because I can't do the stairs to go down to the basement and do it here. It pretty much wiped me out for the day. It is hard to do all the lifting to say nothing about how much it costs. It is faster than doing it at home but I hate lugging it all around. I can only imagine how Dennis was whipped helping me. It seems like this knee replacement surgery has been harder than the others.

Tomorrow I am going back to the pain clinic for my back. I sure hope the treatment they do will help with my pain. The last one didn't work so well.

I don't have much else to say except that things are going wrong here because of finances. My cell phone is broken and I haven't got the money to replace it. Our long distance phone has been shut off because we are late with the payment. We have property taxes due next month and no money to pay it. I just don't know what we are going to do to get out of this mess. With Dennis off work right now and that income lost, it has made it even harder. My disability hearing has not happened yet and I have no idea when it will. There is no guarantee that I will even get it. I know that I can hardly function physically around the house and I don't think I could ever go back to work.

2009-01-01T09:51:00.003-05:00

I am glad it is a new year. 2008 was a difficult one for our family. With my shoulder replacement surgery (that was not 100% successful), my dad's homegoing in November, my husband's knee replacement 5 days before Christmas, my son's health crises Christmas eve. I was turned down for disability from Social Security, we lost our church where we attended for 30 years, I lost my job with the church after 12 years, financial problems continue to plague us. Mark lost a job and was out of work for a couple of months.

There were some good things too. My youngest granddaughter was saved. God provided another job for Mark. Dennis has a great job with Prestige Buick here in Ypsilanti. He is the shuttle driver and really likes it. We are attending a good church. I am looking forward to seeing what this year will bring to my little corner of the world.

Dennis Update

2008-12-29T17:19:00.000-05:00

I wanted to let everyone know what transpired this week-end and today. Dennis’ pain in his operated leg increased significantly over the week-end. The strong pain meds he is on were not giving him the pain relief he needed. I called the dr. this morning. His dr. was out of town so we had to see someone else. He thinks that Dennis has a hematoma around the knee. He is suppose to rest his leg. He now has it in an immobilizer to ease the pain as well as continuing with pain meds. He will see his surgeon on Wed. Pray that his leg will start feeling better again. Pray that I will have the strength I need to take care of him.

Christmas Eve

2008-12-26T19:20:00.002-05:00

Christmas this year was different. It was the first year without my dad. That was tough enough but there were some other circumstances that made it difficult. Dennis had knee replacement surgery on Dec. 19. He came home on Dec. 22. Because of this surgery and the way he was feeling we could not go to my sister's where the rest of the family was gathering. My son, Mark, had some sort of health crises when he was at work on Wed. (Dec 24). He fell to the ground shaking and had a terrible headache. A customer called 911 and they took him by ambulance to the hospital. I knew I couldn't get there because I couldn't leave Dennis. I was ok with that because my friend Dannie went to the hospital. When they thought Mark might be bleeding out in the brain, I knew I had to be there. I called my dear friends, Herb and Kathy, they drove to our house. Herb stayed with Dennis and Kathy took me to the hospital. It was snowing and sleeting at times. The roads were horrible but our friends were there when we needed help. I am so glad that they were able to minister to us that way. Isn't God good. I got to the hospital and waited with Mark for the results of the CT scan of his brain. He was not bleeding like they thought. Thank you, Jesus. They then wanted to do a spinal tap to make sure it wasn't meningitis. I could not be in the room when they did that. It was a tough think to do and they had some difficulty. That test was also clear so they figure it was a migraine. He has a following visit on Jan 6. with a neurologist. He has no insurance so I don't know how much this is going to cost him. God will provide.

When we knew we couldn't get to Grand Rapids for family Christmas, we talked to my sister and she postponed it until Jan. 10. My brother and his wife will be visiting so that is a perfect time to have a family Christmas. I can hardly wait to play our family Christmas game. That is another story that will have to wait for another time. Joy, Jeff, and the girls came down from Walled Lake on Christmas day. We had a good day visiting, playing and eating together. I even fixed one of Dennis' favorite meals in hopes of cheering him up a bit. There is always some depression after surgery. We played with the WII and had a lot of fun.

In Honor

2008-12-20T10:12:00.001-05:00

In Memory

2008-12-12T20:41:00.000-05:00

I have not written in a while. There were a horrific accident on the Wed. before Thanksgiving (Nov 26, 2008). I got a call in the morning from my mother which was unusual because my folks didn't call much. She told me dad had been in a terrible accident and it didn't look good. He was plowing his driveway from the snow that fell the night before. He was on is John Deere 1954 Model 40 tractor. He liked to push snow around but that morning it was not a good outcome. A woman came over the crest of a small hill in front of Dad's house. She must have been going too fast because she could not stop on the slippery road. She hit the tractor hard enough that it broke in two. This was not a small lawn tractor it was a regular farm tractor. Dad hit the pavement. 911 responded and he was so severely injured that they put him on a medflight to Grand Rapids. He never regained conscience He passed away at 6:35 pm. We were with him when they pronounced him dead. He is now singing with the angels. We know he was a child of God. He had put his faith in Christ many years earlier. My dad and mom would have celebrated 62 years of marriage on that Friday. These past few weeks have been the hardest of my life. My entire family is having a hard time with this and the holidays are upon us. We did sigh with relief when we found out that Mom is going to live with my brother. She cannot live alone any longer. Dad was her caregiving. A big job is ahead of us in cleaning out the house and selling things. It will also be a difficult job. There are 5 of us kids. I pray that we can work together to get it all done without fighting.

The True Meaning of Christmas

2008-11-23T15:15:00.001-05:00

Don't let the true meaning of Christmas get left behind as you prepare for this busy time of the year. Take time to reflect on what God has done for you and your family in the last year. I know for me and my family we have had some difficulties. I can tell you that God is right there with us with His light showing us the way.

Rain or Snow

2008-11-15T15:30:00.001-05:00

Today is cold and rainy or snowy here in Michigan. We had a weather man once who called this kind of weather "snain" . I went out this morning to get my hair done but I sure don't feel like going out for any other reason.

I have to get serious about getting some cards done. I have 2 anniv. cards to do for next week and then a few for Dec. Then I go full out to do Christmas cards.

I made a birthday card yesterday for a teen at our church. I love this little set. It is a lot of fun to color. The set is called "Sushi" and it is an exclusive to Ecletic Paperie. The orange on the little fishes smeared a little but other than that it was a success for coloring. The ribbon is a bright orange. That doesn't show up well in the picture.

I suppose I best get busy doing something worthwhile...

Maybe I will take a nap first. My hip is bothering me and if I lay down it might not be as bad for a while. I found out I have bursitis in my hip. I will know better after I get my x-ray results what for sure is going on.

Too busy doing Nothing

2008-11-11T09:41:00.001-05:00

I have been spending too much time doing other stuff (like blogging) and am behind on getting cards made. That doesn't happen to me very often. I must have creative block.

IMy daughter and family went up north to get their dog on Saturday. It is a lab-husky mix and huge. He weighs 66 lbs. He has sure adopted their family well. Joy called this morning to tell me how Datsuk (named after a hockey player) jumped out the car window at the bus stop to play with the girls. They will have to watch him closly. With Husky blood in him he will be a runner. At least, our husky shepherd mix used to run and we would always have to be searching for her. They got a chip put in him yesterday so if he runs away they have a pretty good chance of getting him back. When I get a picture of him with the girls I will post it.

I found a fantastic paper place in Ann Arbor. They have over 3000 handmade papers. I got some gorgeous paper for my Christmas cards. Now all I have to do is get the stamp I want to use.

A Very Tired Friday Night

2008-11-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

I haven't written for a while. I have managed to stay busy. I wonder sometimes how I had time to work, keep a household running, and take care of my kids. I got the family calendar done for next year. Now that I have that done and the Thanksgiving cards done for Joy I can concentrate on my Christmas cards. I have the things I need ordered. It is suppose to be in on Monday. I sure hope so. I also need to get some b'day cards done too. My dad's birthday is the 13th. He will be 84. My folks 62nd anniversary is on Nov 28. Wow can you imagine. That sounds like forever.

I got a frantic phone call from a friend tonight. She had locked her keys in her car and needed help to get in to the car. It was late she had a hard day at work. She was frustrated as you can imagine. We went to Ann Arbor, found her, called AAA and they got her into her car in less than 5 min. I am glad we were able to help her.

I have a funny story to tell about some election signs. My DH worked for GM for many years. His nickname was Speck. There were a couple of his friends that called him that. A couple of weeks before the election my husband awoke, got ready for work and found this planted in front of the house. It came from Taylor. We think we know who did it. A certain friend that shall remain nameless lives near Taylor. He knew that Dennis was known as "Speck" at work. We thought it was pretty funny. It brought us a few chuckles and of course our friend denied it.

Now an even funnier part. A couple of days later we had some politicians knock on the door. They were asking for our support for Pope for judge. We had the "Speck" for judge sign in the house at that point. The "Pope" for judge was at least in the correct location when they place it in the front yard with our permission. Our son had been out that day and when he came home underneath his arm was the "Pope" sign. He wanted to know if it was a joke again. "Oh no" was our reply go put it back.

Tuesday

2008-10-28T20:16:00.000-04:00

I had a busy week-end. Sunday we attended church with our daughter, Joy, and the family. Joy played a special offertory song. She did a great job as always. We went and had dinner with them. A quick stop at WalMart was in order for my trip north. I met my brother, Bill and his wife, to head up north for an overnight visit with my folks.

Monday I went to funeral for my Aunt on my dad's side of the family. She was 83. My dad is the last one left of that generation in his family. My aunt and uncle had 7 kids. It had been 9 years since I saw any of my cousins. What a shame there is not a family reunion on that side of the family. I didn't know but 1 of them and none of the spouses or kids. We used to have such a great time going to Bad Axe in the summer. We spent many hours at the lake swimming, playing on the beach, getting sunburned...eating, laughing...what fond wonderful memories. The other thing about my Aunt Bertha I remember was her homemade bread. Oh my was it good. She made 7 or 8 loaves a day. I don't remember Aunt Bertha ever being rattled with her 7 kids, us 5 kids, Uncle Mike's and Aunt Marian's 4 kids. That was 16 kids we had running around at the lake and park, or visiting at someone's house. What a testimony. My cousin Roger is a minister and had part of the funeral. My cousin, Barb's son, is also a minister and the prayer he prayed at the graveside was so moving. If you can have a good day being at a funeral, I did. It was a long tiring day for my folks but I am glad I went.

Another thing that happened Monday in Bad Axe was a trip to Murphy's bakery. It is a family owned business that was there when my dad was a kid. Dad told me they used to go there to buy day old bread to feed their animals. The lady would always put fresh stuff in the top of the bag for the them. My dad lost his mom when he was really young so I think it was nice for the bakery lady to do that for them kids. My dad still remembered that and he is 83.

I would like to take a trip over that way next summer. I found out yesterday that my paternal grandparents, and my dad's younger siblings that died are buried right there in Bad Axe at the same cemetary where my Aunt's funeral was buried.

I spent last night with my folks. Mom is sick with a terrible cold or bronchitis or something. I hope she is better soon. Dennis (my DH) came after me today. We got back from up there about 4 this afternoon. I still haven't unpacked. I figured I have all day tomorrow to do that.

Friday

2008-10-24T21:57:00.000-04:00

I had a good day today. Joy came down and we went and looked for a doggy for her. There is a no kill shelter near here that Jo knew about and Jo knows about doggys. She found Miriam for us. I don't know if they are going to adopt one or not. They may go look again. They did have a lot of nice kittys there - more than doggys. Then Joy had to go to the store because she needed to pick up somethings to make an appetizer for tonight. She made spanish rice for me for lunch. It was sooooo goooood. We ate the whole batch without any left over. She makes a appetizer out of water chestnuts, bacon and a bbq type sauce. They are really good.

Tonight we went to dinner with the Bobo's at Applebees. I can tell you the company was better than the dinner. For some reason neither Dennis or I like their food that much.

I spent an hour or so on YouTube today listening to quartet music. It was good to hear those old songs again.

I am going to try something here so lets see if it works.

This is one of my favorite songs. Especially the verse about no more pain. On days like this where I am hurting all over I long to be free of pain. And that is not going to happen until I am at home with Him.

New Card

2008-10-22T10:23:00.000-04:00

This is the card I was trying to post yesterday when I was having all the problems. It is an anniversary card that I made for my niece. It turned out ok but it was a hurry up and get it in the mail type thing. Oops it looks crooked in the picture but the real thing was straight I think. The centerpiece on this card is layered onto a dark purple (Elegant Eggplant). It looks black in this photo but it is not.

Some people...

2008-10-22T09:07:00.001-04:00

are so giving of themselves to help others. We have a few friends like that. Last night, my son was having friends over to paint things for their hobby. One of them, Mike, is a computer person that works at EMU (go Eagles) and goes to our church. I was having some issues on two of the computers that we have in the house. I have the old church computer and I was sure it was still usable but it wouldn't connect to the internet. I wanted to be able to do that for two reasons. The first is I would like my DH to be able to set up his fantasy football. I would also like him to be able to learn email to stay connected to his friends. The old computer would be perfect. I also wanted my grandgirls, Hannah and Lilli, to be able to go to the net and play on their websites. Since the computer is so old there were some real issues with getting it on-line. Mike succeeded last night. I am so THANKFUL. I feel bad because he came over to paint for his hobby and hang out with my son and another friend. I don't know if he was able to paint or not. He was still here when I went to be at 11.

Tuesday Frustration

2008-10-21T13:50:00.000-04:00

I am so frustrated with my computer. My Internet Explorer quit working. I had downloaded a newer version it froze and when I restarted it won't load at all. I am getting around it by using the Yahoo Browser which I do not like. I have tried everything I know to fix it but nothing has worked. I have also been unable to upload photos to my gallery on SCS. I have not any idea how to fix that. I have emailed to see if I can get an answer. I only have one more card to make for October. It is special because it is for my daughter.

I just tried uploading a picture to this blog and I have the same problem as with SCS. I am ready to SCREAM.

Thanksgiving for Joy

2008-10-18T18:08:00.001-04:00

Saturday

2008-10-18T16:48:00.000-04:00

Today is Michigan football day. They are ahead in the first quarter 7 - 0 (Penn State). We did a little grocery shopping this morning. I guess that is necessary if you want to eat.

I actually made a cake today. It has been a long time since I baked anything. It will be time to get supper soon.

I have an earache. I have had it on and off for a week or so. I can tolerate it though. I am worried about my DH. His leg pain seems to be increasing. He can hardly walk. He doesn't complain though. He mowed the back yard when I wanted to ask our son to help out. He just won't ask for help.

I need to get an anniversary card made and get started on the family calendars. I keep putting it off. I really don't have anything else to say today.

BFF

2008-10-17T11:16:00.000-04:00

I had my card club here at home last night. We did our card swap and a couple of us had difficulty with the sketch challenge but we managed. My friend Gail interpretated the sketch differently but I really liked how her cards turned out. She is so funny. She asks her husband how they look - that is her first mistake - never as DH about a card you have made. They generally don't care.

We learned to braid paper strips. Well, at least some of us did. I had a hard time but with it but with practice I could get it learned enough to actually use it on a card. Once I learn how to do a straight line with no wrong moves, I will attempt to make a corner. It really didn't take long to do the demo so we sat and talked. It was so good to have some time with my BFF's. I have had some emotional days this week and it was worth while to share and allow us to vent even if it was just to each other. I found out that several of us have basically the same issues with our adult children. We came to the conclusion that there is very little we can do to change things. We have to accept that the way we raised our kids was basically the same. The reason that things happen are the poor choices they are making.

It is time for me to get dressed (11:30 AM) and work on some cards. I wonder sometimes how I ever had time to work, because I can kill 4 hours and show very little for my effort.

Card Swap October

2008-10-15T11:35:00.001-04:00

Wednesday Wisdom

2008-10-15T09:16:00.000-04:00

I don't know why I wrote that title. I very rarely spout words of wisdom. The cards you see in this post are ones I made for a card swap club that I participate in once a month.

Now that I have that done I need to do a few things for my daughter.

I also need to do my family calendars that I do every year. I have been doing it for a long time. They have all the family birthday's and anniversaries on them. I also add some silly days on it too. Party, party date, National coffee day, grouch day, boss day (this is not the same day), french fry Friday ... you get the idea.

And finally I need to get started on my Christmas cards or they won't be finished on time. I wish I could go until midnight doing stuff. I have to admit I am very fatigued by evening. I fall asleep sitting in a chair at 7 pm . I wonder if it is the fibromyalgia playing havoc with my stamina or if it is RA and chronic pain. I don't suppose it really matters what it is it is now a part of my life.

Monkeying around

2008-10-07T13:15:00.000-04:00

I made this cute little monkey card today. I started it last night and finished this morning. They are fun but I only have this b'day stamp set from Stampendous with Changito in it. I colored them with Prisma pencils and OMS. The base of the card is made with SU More Mustard. The blue is Brocade Blue. I also used some Sparkle on the picture frame.

My DH is off today so he has a chance to rest his leg and ankle. I just don't know if this is going to feel better before he has to make a decision about having the surgery to repair his knee replacement.

I need to go and pick up some meds for him.

Birthday Card

2008-10-03T11:35:00.001-04:00

Here is a card I made for a friend for her birthday. I am not very good at it but I love to color. I used my new Prisma pencils with OMS to blend. The leaf brads I got at a little scrap book store in Midland MI. I really can't say where the stamp is from. I saw it, the price was right so I bought it. It was so much fun to color.

Today was a bit better

2008-09-30T21:46:00.000-04:00

We went up to meet Joy to get some gifts for a baby shower. I did a few more stamps that I found that I had to unmount. That gives me 255 cd cases so far. I am running out of room. I did manage to get a card done today for a baby shower on Sat. Well, it is almost done. I have to find words for the inside. It is supposed to be light pink because it is for a baby girl but the camera did not pick it up too well.

Dennis was still hurting badly today. He even wondered about going to the dr. about this problem he has been having with his ankles hurting so bad. He did get all the laundry done. I wish I could help but I can't get up and down the steps.

Monday blah blah blah

2008-09-29T16:49:00.000-04:00

Hi,

It has been one of those days for me. I feel like I should do something. I don't know what. Things that I think about doing I know I can't because of my arms and back. Oh, I wish I didn't hurt. Dennis is having a bad day with pain too. He doesn't feel well and has to work until 7. I lay in bed at night trying to go to sleep and dream about doing things around the house. I would like to do a major cleaning in my stamp room but I can't move everything myself. My DH would just get frustrated and he hurts too. I am destined to stay in this room the way it is. At least for the time being.

I did get a card made today. This is for my sister. I am sorry to scan is so bad but the brads on the card made it so it didn't lay completely flat on the scanner so there is a shadow. I colored this with my Prisma pencils. I used a bit of glitter on the pumpkins.

It is time to go and get dinner started. I am doing something that can go in the oven. Then when DH gets home we can eat rather quickly. DTWS is on tonight and I don't want clean up to keep me away from that.

I do have one football player playing tonight but it looks like I lost my second game. I will have to make some changes for next week. I don't want to stay in a losing slump.

A BIG Shout

2008-09-27T13:15:00.000-04:00

If you heard yelling yesterday in the Ypsilanti area, it was me. Yes, I am doing with the unmounting/indexing project that I started in March (I think?). I did not unmount my Judith stamps because most of them are on round sticks. I also did not unmount my background stamps because they are so big that I don't have a block for them. I don't have many of them so they don't take up much room. Although I am not unmounting them I do want to incorporate them into the index.

Now I can go play with my toys. Now that they are all neat and clean. I have one card I have to make and then I want to get started on a new family calendar for next year.

SU Fun

2008-09-19T12:16:00.000-04:00

I had a Stampin Up party last night. What fun. I am sorry so many people had things to do but I can have another party sometime. We did two cards. There are here on this post. There is glitter on the flowers but you can't really tell that. I am still indexing. I hope to be able to finish it in a couple of days.

Something from Youtube

2008-09-14T20:30:00.000-04:00

Hi,

It has been a couple of days since I wrote. There is a reason - either I have been busy or I have been lazy. I don't know which. I only have 1 shelf left to index for my stamps. I still have cards to make for Thurs. I can hardly believe that I don't have them done.

A friend sent this to me and I really like it so please check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na509XTw3CY

A First -- I got brave

2008-09-11T16:14:00.000-04:00

I posted a card I made on SCS. I have a gallery started now. I will post more when I get this crazy indexing done. I have almost 2 shelves yet to do. It takes a while to get this done. We met with some friends of ours for lunch today. We have known these friends for 35 + years. It is nice to sit and catch up once in a while. The problem is that now I am so full I won't want to cook dinner. My DH would say what else is new.

Are you ready for some football?

2008-09-08T22:33:00.001-04:00

I did it! I won my first Fantsy Football game!!! I beat a family friend that used to be an AD. Wow I still can't believe it.

I also found an old acquaintance while perusing the posts on SCS. That was way cool. I am still working on my indexing for my stamps. Will it ever end? Probably not because there are hundreds of companies and always new stamps that I like.

My DH surprised me today with an ice tea from McDonald's. They are only $1 but I can't get enough of them.

My son lost his job on Saturday. Let's pray he finds something soon. He does have financial responsibility and we can't really bail him out.

Time to go to bed and get ready for another day.

2008-09-06T15:09:00.001-04:00

Have you heard about National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week? September 8-14, 2008 will feature 20 seminars via Blog Talk Radio, (4 per day, M-F) plus tons of people are helping spread the word by blogging about invisible illness issues. Do you get tired of hearing, “But you look so good?” or weary of the stares when you park in a handicapped spot? This is our chance to educate the public as well as remember we are not alone. Nearly 1 in 2 people in the USA live with an illness and 96% of it is invisible.

Elegant Floral

2008-09-04T12:38:00.001-04:00

Here is the first card on my blog. I used CTMH cranberry paper and ink, Elegant Floral stamp and accessories. I used the Cuttlebug to cut the circle and the swiss dot embossed background. The photo corner was made using a Stampin Up punch.

I hope to add more of my cards another time. I have been busy indexing stamps. I need to get that done so I can play.

Tuesday - Draft day

2008-09-02T21:57:00.000-04:00

Today was the Fantasy Football draft. This is the first time I have had my own team. The drafting was so intense. Especially when I don't know much about football. Oh well, at least there is no money riding on this.

I had a good week-end visiting with family at our reunion. I think there was 80 of us this year. It was nice to be able to spend a little time with dad and mom too.

I am still indexing my stamps. I want that project done so I can play again. I want to get some cards done so I can take pictures and get something posted on this site.

Thurs

2008-08-28T10:06:00.000-04:00

Oh my the week has slipped by too fast. I have been busy doing nothing. I am watching the girls today. Joy needs to get in to work. She has not gone much this week. She has been sick like the girls. I remember as a kid both her and Mark would get sick every year in Aug and Sept. Mark still is sick too but he did go to work yesterday.

I have been thinking about Tyler a lot the last couple of days. It seems like a really long time since we saw him. Here is a picture of him. I took this the last time he visited us. I wish I had my camera so I could take pictures of the girls today. Our daughter in law has the camera and I am not sure when she will return it. Maybe if she stops by I can get a new picture of our little boy. She has not been feeling well either. I hope Tyler doeson't get sick.

Our dear friend, Mike B, came by early this morning and fixed our shower. It has been a really long time since it worked right. It required a trip to the hardware store but almost every time you do a project it requires a trip somewhere to get what you need.

I need to get back to my stamp indexing project. I wish I were done and then I could have more fun playing!

I heard from an old friend yesterday. The gal I worked with for almost 30 years at the U. She is still there and working thru the end of the year. We had such great times together for a lot of years. I am glad I left when I did because my bosses were so awful but I do miss her.

Sunday

2008-08-25T12:03:00.000-04:00

We once again had to hurry thru our McDonald's breakfast to get to church on time. We simply have not got the timing down to drive to church farther than we used to drive. We actually are driving farther now than when we went to church in Belleville 35 years ago. That is one of the drawbacks to going to LW. Pastor Clark had a good message today from Mark 8.

I still have to put some things away for the stamp convention. Then I really must get busy on my "indexing" project again. I don't think I have many cards to make for September so I should be able to get more of that done. Off to get some done.

Sad and good all in the same day

2008-08-23T20:26:00.000-04:00

Our poor little Lilli has a double ear infection. She was up in the night last night. She just wanted her mommy. She felt terribly warm to me and she said her ear hurt. She laid with us for a little while and said she could go back to bed. I got up at 7 and she was laying in grampy's chair. She was crying again. I felt so bad for her. There was really nothing much I could do for her. I called Joy (who is also sick) and Jeff came and got the girls. We were going to take them home because we were going north later in the day. She got home and fell asleep. She had a temp of 102.6 which is pretty high. They let her sleep and took her to see the dr. later in the day. She has a double ear infection. I don't know if Hannah took a nap but she didn't feel well either. She was trying to sleep when Lilli was crying. I hate it when the kids are sick. I hated it when my kids were sick. It is part of growing up I guess but I just get frustrated because I can't help.

The other news is our friend Landy Bobo had to have surgery yesterday. His pacemaker was not working and has not worked since June. He has congestive heart failure. We were so relieved to hear he was doing ok. We ran in and saw them at Tim Horton's for a little bit. I wish it could have been longer but we didn't want to be late for the next item on our agenda.

Now on to better news. Once again we were able to spend time with some dear friends today some who we haven't seen in a while. Our friends, Ron and Gail, had a celebration of their 40th anniversary. We had a lovely lunch at Fleming's in Birmingham. Their son, Andrew, is the chef/partner there. It was very good. The steak was fantastic. From what I could observe and what I have been told, it is expensive to eat there. We had a good time and heard some stories about the Craig's and how they met and their "honeymoon". They have a new grandson who was born last Monday morning. He is a beautiful baby.

2008-08-22T21:59:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture of my grandgirls, my daughter Joy and her husband Jeff.

A busy Friday

2008-08-22T21:54:00.000-04:00

I was able to get my table cleaned up a bit today. I finished my August cards Yahoo!! My grandgirls are spending the night tonight and they are still not asleep!! It is going on 10 and grammy is getting tired. I forgot one of my favorite shows was on tonight and I missed it. Oh well, there is always reruns.

Great Time

2008-08-21T22:02:00.000-04:00

Oh what a great time we had tonight. We got together with some old friends. It had been a very long time since we sat with them. We met for dinner and stayed at Olive Garden for 3 hours! We are going to try to get together again the first part of October. We spent a lot of time with them when we were going together and after we were first married. Such wonderful memories. One more card to make and I will have my August cards finished. It is a good thing since the month is almost over.

I have been thinking about what I am going to do for Christmas cards. I haven't come up with anything for sure yet.

Time Well Spent

2008-08-20T15:14:00.000-04:00

Here I sit. I need a break from my stamping so I thought I would add a small item to my blog. I have to tell you that I spend a lot of time "researching" my hobby. My favorite site is http://www.splitcoaststampers.com . There are so many things on there you could spend all day looking at it. There incredible blogs to look at, wonderful card gallerys and member companies to spend money.

My favorite companies for stamps are: Stampin Up, The Angel Company, Stamps by Judith, Hero Arts. I am sure there are others. Maybe next time I will think of them.

My new favorite coloring technique is with Prisma pencils and OMS for blending.

Off to play.

Very first

2008-08-20T14:19:00.000-04:00

I have taken the jump I was finally convinced this is something I can do. Thanks to my son and his blog here.

This is a picture of me that was taken in my messy room where creativity takes place (I hope).