Apr20

Catching up with a friend

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We did get to go out to dinner to eat and visit with Bri’s pal Kathy from college a few hours ago. Seems she was all around our house today, but didn’t plan to stop in-I don’t know why. I thought maybe it was too far for her to drive. Anyway, we went back to the restaurant where we couldn’t get a seat last Saturday. I called about 3:15 for ‘call ahead seating’. I bent the girl’s ear back about how awful it was there with people sitting and waiting while there were empty tables sitting empty. I suggested it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the people there to discuss how to make a bad situation better. We got a nice booth in the back-right away, like it was waiting for us.

Here’s a couple of photos that Sean snapped, which I should have cropped because of the big white napkin there. I like the first of Brian a lot!

Bri and Kath

Bri, Kath and me
Dinner was delicious, but this Carrabbas isn’t as generous with their food as the Springfield Mall one we usually eat at. I had lost a few pounds (I think because of my new med) but my dinner tonight added them back on. The guys ate some of mine and I had no leftovers. It helped my head to go out. When I came home I felt better. Even Kathy, who never had sinus problems, is saying how hers were bothering her.
She too just celebrated a big birthday (the same as Bri, but back on Nov. 19th-so she is exactly 3 yrs older than me as that’s my bd too).
She just purchased a lovely new house last summer (TN) and has wild turkeys running around-we saw photos. She’s a single lady and works at a community college to help disabled students. I gave her a mini scrapbook and an Art trading cards graced with tulips as I remembered they are her favorite flowers. I also printed out some photos and stuffed them in the bare pages.
I asked if Sean reminded her of Brian at that age (same age when they first met) and she said yes, but Sean is more outgoing. : )
The pal where Kath is staying called on her cell and said she had to take her son to Children’s Hospital as his injured and patched together knee of 3-4 weeks ago was causing him a lot of pain. Her friend sent her twins to a pals house, so Kathy has the place to herself. Tomorrow Kath is headed to near where my mom lives to stay and visit with another pal.
We are welcome to come to Tennessee anytime.

Apr19

Kitchen anniversary

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One year ago, I was watching my 1960s kitchen cabinets(photos in link) get tossed out into my backyard, along with the sink and oven. I was a little reminiscent of days long gone by, like my baby’s first bath in that sink (given to him in his blue Fisher Price tub by his mom mom) and him standing on a step stool, looking so cute as we dyed Easter eggs together over the years. We did a bunch of messy things out there! But it was time for something new. There were more things on the countertops then inside the cabinets! I had drawn up a plan years before we actually went to the Home Depot for them to help us design the kitchen. I know I wanted light colored cabinets-it’s not a huge kitchen and the honey wood maple or whatever was not to my liking anymore. So I got the ‘fawn glaze’ finish which is an off white with ‘distress’, meaning little boo-boos to make them look older, but not overdone. The plans that were drawn on the computer were very much like the ones I had made up in my head! I wanted a pantry closet, a movable oven and stove combo with the glass top and a separate counter for baking.

I liked that we did some of the finishing-painting, tiling (with glass mosaics that I did) and tin which Bri and I both worked on. I pretty much know where everything is now. When I buy a bunch of groceries, they get ‘put away’ and you can’t tell I was even food shopping. It’s really easier to assemble things for cooking too.

I was just thinking I should give each cabinet a wipe out for their anniversary. I already do that to the bread drawer and pot cabinet frequently, but I think I will do that tomorrow as we are planning to meet Bri’s pal Kathy tonight for dinner. I am praying my sinuses will decompress soon. They started ‘acting up’ last night. Sean and Bri both are having nasal issues too. I was blaming mine on emptying my mom’s bagless vacuum out in the wind a few days ago. Speaking of mom, I so need to get her one of those mats with the stiff bristles for muddy shoes. No way should two people be making that much dirt-they are dragging it in on their shoes-no real sidewalk and Jim walks up and down the stone drive which is more dirt than stones now. When four kids lived there I don’t remember seeing that much. Maybe I just didn’t care or my live-in grandmom kept it cleaned up. I think both!

One view of the kitchen 2007

Second view of kitchen with dining area show

Apr18

Maybe soon…

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…this pond will be running and the grass will be green and freshly cut. It is suppose to look like this.  (without the weeds!) You can see a branch (one of so many that have come down this year) and what’s left of my broken gazing ball on the orangey rock there. Last year at this time we had lots of days of nice weather. I have another water container with waterlilies and they were coming up nicely last year to greet the warm sunshine. This year I see no signs of the tiny leaves and I fear they are gone. I know I lost some mums near my front door. I blame it on the rock salt that was generously put down and probably pushed right into my plants.

Neglected pond
In the meantime, I can have colorful flowers on the table to look at and take photos of too. This yellow carnation was purchased almost a week ago and still looks pretty good. Yellow carnation

Apr17

VA tech continued

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Sean’s psychology teacher was called down to VA tech yesterday as not only is he a grief counselor, but he is an EMT! I asked what kind of man he is and Sean replied that he is kinda like my brother Ken, a joker. I’m sure he helped.

Just heard that a bunch of New Jersey people were hurt-one young man who graduated the year before my nephew David (same high school) was probably a grad student down there.

I can’t understand why the English teacher didn’t red flag some of the papers the shooter turned in which mentioned killing several times (i.e.-I can kill him!).

College students are banding together offering support to VA Tech students. Sean has been meeting lots of VA tech students through Facebook and plans to wear maroon (and orange I think) on Friday-the school’s colors.

Sean dropped me off at my mom’s today as he only had a 2:30 class. His university in only about 4 miles from where my mom lives. I did a little vacuuming and dusting while there. We later went to my brother’s house so I could give Tori her birthday gifts which she liked (mostly clothes from The Gap and some earrings). We ate at a brick oven joint and then begged Sean to take us to the big JoAnn’s store. I did some serious damage there by adding to my art supplies. They always have good sales. I love the DCWV paper packs and got awesome designs-like 75 pages for $2.99-the right size for my cards. I may go food shopping tomorrow or I may play with my new ‘toys’.

Apr17

BBC America’s Robin Hood

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I really like BBC America. I can be flipping channels and there is that slim chance of a rerun or nothing good is on,  so I can usually always count on some good Brit humor or drama at BBC America. They have a Robin Hood series on  right now and it’s quite good and entertaining. I really like Sir Guy and Maid Marian, not to say that the chap who plays Robin Hood isn’t good (he is reminding me of Charlie from LOST), but darn that Errol Flynn, I have an image of a bigger man in my head. Everyone is actually quite good.

Sir Guy is played by extremely handsome Richard Armitage and Maid Marian is played by 20 yr old Lucy Griffiths. The Sheriff reminded Sean of Billy Joel!  Try to catch the show-it’s worth a look.

Richard Armitage as Sir Guy of Gisbourne

And he’s the ‘bad’ one-can you tell?

Lucy Griffiths as Maid Marion

Apr16

Virginia Tech tragedy

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Just when you think the world is spinning on a safer axis, something like this happens. We don’t know all the details, but 33 people are dead-the worst in US college campus history. Sean knows a freshman named Stephanie who attends the school (from his old high school). He has a message in her Facebook to make sure she is ok.

Update-Stephanie was home for the weekend and is still there-thank goodness!

I can’t even write anymore about this nor could I watch any news about it.

While I was sitting in my quiet and cold house this morning (we had no power from about 8:45 am to 12:15 and it’s still risky that it will go off again), I was reading an update on the opening of the new schoolhouse in Nickel Mines in People magazine. About $4 million in donations were sent from all over the world as that tragic event last October touched so many people. They have art work from some of the deceased girls hanging up in memory of them. And it’s called the ‘New Hope’ school. The magazine even quotes a minister from Quarryville, where Brian works.

Feeling better today-sure didn’t waste those 3 hours earlier. I finally wrote out my cards for the Make A Child Smile kids (see side bar) and sorted out stickers, etc for my art projects. If the power had remained off, I was going to clean my bedroom-well, I guess I can still do that.

; )

Apr16

4″ of rain Sunday

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That nor’easter sure did blow in and is hanging around. That’s a lot of rain for a single day in these parts. Mom’s yard was like a swimming pool (so she told me) as my brother was preparing it for grass-the seed is surely gone now!

I made a nice roast beef dinner with mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese biscuits, which was very good and perfect for the cool, rainy weather. Brian peeled the potatoes and mashed them to perfection. I didn’t use the ricer as the russets had weird looking skin and I didn’t want to cook that.

I haven’t been up to par, I had indigestion Saturday, ate the Chinese food (uh oh), but slept ok. I had a sore stomach all day until I wised up and took a Tylenol. It felt better within a half hour. I tried mint tea, Gas-X and assorted tummy remedies when I probably had a muscle pull! My mom had had a wicked tummy thing on Easter and I am knocking wood that I avoided that one.

So here is what I made today. I am using old flower, bird and kid’s books (shown mostly in the first example). I hate to cut them up, but I feel I am giving them new life through art. The second card has a definition for ‘dreaming’. I was using the water sphere from the flower show and rubberstamped a face on it, but the embossing power was put on thick and melted too much, hence an entire new idea crept up in my brain. The children were part of a CD collection I found on eBay.

Why do stars shine?

Dreamer child
These were photographed on a trio of cute wicker chests my mom gave me for Easter that I am using to store a lot of my art supplies in.

And last, but not least…my latest cross stitched piece, a The Prairie Schooler church for Su’s neighborhood (see link in sidebar).
Su’s NRR church

Apr15

In memory of Titanic

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Back in 1912, the Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15th. We of course will always associate our anniversary (when the doomed ship hit the iceberg) with this tragedy. I made this wallpaper last year, it’s one of my favorites. I was always interested in the Titanic, yes, even before the movie. This is clickable.

Titanic collage
Thanks for your well wishes for our anniversary. The nicest thing-we gave each other lovely cards. Everything was downhill after that. The cordless keyboard and mouse that Bri gave me (I think it was a gift for him too) wouldn’t install properly, so it went back to Walmart and I got a new vacuum since the cord is shot on my old Bissell. We went to church and found out a member who lives across from the church had taken his own life. Then we went to Carrabbas (our appetites were diminished by then) and couldn’t get a seat as it was overcrowded. We ended up in a so-so Chinese restaurant as it was close by. It was really salty (uh-oh MSG). So Debby Downer is done for the night. Have a nice Sunday. Oh, and here comes the nor’easter!

Apr13

Photo Hunt-Hobby & Art card JAM 1

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I’m a little early…

PSHunt
Grab the Scavenger Hunt code.Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

Before I show you my awesome Art Cards, I guess I should have said my anniversary is tomorrow. I was just referring to ‘the day before’ my wedding 23 yrs ago which was also Friday the 13th.

These are my four cards that I sent out to three of my friends who participated in the JAM who each added one or two elements as they received them.

Water colored cards
And here’s what I received back yesterday. Aren’t my pals from California talented. Take bows gang! BTW, I’ve got panty hose, lace, a feather and beads on these! The final products