Orange rose

I have no idea what I'm going

to do with all these cards but

I sure am enjoying making them!

I do think it would have looked better

if I'd have flipped the design though.

I'm having a bit of trouble lately with

my arm/shoulder.  It wasn't even hurting

that much when I went in for my injection

and now has been doing a deep ache and

sometimes downright pain in the bicep

area.  I just can't give up stitching!  What

would I do with myself?  I am reading the

Harry Potter books (for the first time)

but when I read too much it makes me

sleepy.  This from someone who used

to read 4-5 books a week.  Of course, then

I was a young mother and needed an escape

from the kids, LOL!!

I'm probably going to go see my mother

today.  I'm hoping for a good visit again.

I wish I could find more information

on what behaviour to expect from

people with dementia but there's just

no "road map"  which is what I want.

I guess it's all in God's time and He

holds the road map.  We get to see

it as it unfolds and He unfolds it as

slowly or quickly as He deems best

for us and our lives.  It's hard to

understand sometimes...

Happy Thursday!

Snow couple

Aren't these two just adorable?

I imagine them sitting there in

the evening watching the sun go down.

Hopefully it's really cold and they

won't melt.  I wish it would warm

up here, though!

 

My dad took my mom home for a visit

the other day-he's been hoping to bring

her home.  She says she hates it at

the  nursing home.  When he did, she had a

meltdown, I guess; said he was pushing

her too fast, expecting  her to do things

she couldn't do...etc, etc.  But she is

up now, walking more with her walker

and getting out of her chair with little

assistance.  He thought she would

want to come home.  Now he's

more depressed than he was before.

The financial aspect is worrisome.  We

are waiting for a medicaid waiver to

come through (hopefully).  Nursing

homes are not cheap.  I don't know if

it's the dementia or what that's causing

her to act that way.  All I know is I'm 

worried about my dad.  I know God

has this all under control but I can't

see it and I want to be able to know

what to expect.  That's not how He

works, I guess.  We don't know until

He's ready to let us know.

 

Happy Wednesday!

 

The eyes have it

The main reason I liked this

pattern is because, to me at least,

it looks like lots of eyes all the way 

around the edge!

 

It's a little creepy, actually!  I see I got

a shine on it which I didn't notice

at the time, sorry.  It is a grape bunch.

 

I have been invited to a "spiritual weekend"

called "The Great Banquet" in Bryan, Ohio.  I guess

it's all over the country.  I had never heard

of it.  My friend invited me and you have

to have an invitation, you can't just

join.  It's based on the story of the

great banquet in Luke.  Remember-the

master invited lots of friends and each

had an excuse as to why they couldn't 

come so finally he sent his servants

out to bring in anyone and everyone

so his house would be full.  I don't

know too much about it other than it's

life changing and brings you to a much

deeper relationship with God.  I

always want to do that!  It's next month

and I'm looking forward to it.  My 

awesome daughter in law, Pam,  has 

already agreed to babysit Lili and 

B'Elanna. Isn't she just great?! 

 

As far as I know the rest of the week is

going to be nice and quiet just the way

I like it.  I'm not signing this week either,

since Coleen put herself on the list.  I

didn't think she would because she's

doing sermons every other week now,

but I think she misses it!  

 

Happy Tuesday!

 

What a doll!

This is baby Kathryn.  Isn't

she a doll?

Yes.  Yes, as a matter of fact she

IS a doll.  The best baby I've ever

had.  She just sleeps.  And sleeps.

No crying, no diaper changing, 

no feeding and all I have to do

is dust her once in a while, LOL.

 

On to the card:

 

I'm pretty much out of these images

now and since I ordered 3D sheets

with my latest patterns you won't

have to look at them anymore.  :)

 

I'm so sad for Texas.  What a mess.

On the other side of the coin

we are getting a small amount of

rain and we really need it.  I'm sure

they would be happy to send some

our way if they could.

I think the warm weather is due

to come back this week.  At least

I hope so.  I've had enough of 50-60

degree weather in August!

 

Happy Monday!

 

 

That's called Faith

Isn't she such a cutie?  The

last time I tried to photograph

this particular picture, for some

reason I kept getting lines around

her arm.  Weird.  This time it

came out great.  Maybe because

I tilted the picture.

I borrowed  something from facebook

 today that really spoke to me:

There  have been times in my life When I

think God was just wanting me to be

willing.  Kind of like signing the 

announcements.  I think He wanted me

to be willing but not necessarily do it

at this point.  Another instance is giving

blood.  I was willing.  I didn't end up

doing it-through no fault of mine-

unless you consider not drinking 

water my fault.  OK, so it is, but

that's beside the point!  I hate water.

Flavoured or not.  Apparently diet

coke is not very hydrating.  It's not

like I drink the caffeine stuff.  Sigh.

I just hate water.

It's chilly again today.  Enough of

this!  I want my summer back!

Happy Sunday!

 

 

 

Coffee anyone?

The coffee at Jeremiah's is seriously

awful.  I am not a huge coffee fan,

but I do love a caramel latte.  I took 

mine back up and asked if she got

it mixed up with someone else's!

I almost choked when I took a drink.

It was strong enough to walk away

on it's own!  Anyway, the chat went

fine.  One deaf person showed up

(Thanks, Drew!)  he's an awesome

guy.  Some students from a nearby

school came-they have ASL as a

foreign language.  Also a friend

of ours was there.  So we had

a good time.

This is my second Pierrot.  I guess it

must be a girl since it has a tutu on.

I don't know, it kind of looked like

a boy as well, so I just wasn't sure.  I 

think she's darling.  I have one more since

each sheet usually has enough for three

cards on it.

 

I'm going to visit my mom today.  I

hope the visit goes as well as the one

earlier in the week.

 

Happy Saturday!

 

Seriously freaked out

Before I get to why I'm freaked out, 

here is the card.  Isn't he/she

(not sure which) just adorable?!

I couldn't get a good picture with the

colours because they are so pale.  It's light 

blue, light pink and light violet.

 

 So, here's the freaked out part.

Tonight is  coffee chat.  Lately only

one or two deaf people have been

showing up.  BUT neither Coleen or Pam

will be there tonight.  Just me and Judy.

Now, Judy, I know you are calm, cool

and collected under all circumstances. 

Me, not so much.  I am totally freaked

out.  I can't understand what is signed

to me very well and I'm slow at signing.  Since

I'm still new to it I'm very precise which is

not how it works in the real world, so that

makes it difficult for me as well.    So

we shall see.  It's also at a different

coffee house and I don't like their

caramel latte's as well.  So hard is my life!

LOL!

 

I'm looking forward to later this morning

though.  I get my cortisone shot.  

Believe it or not, this last shot lasted

until about 2 weeks ago, so maybe after

two years I am finally getting better.  Is

that too much to hope for?

 

What is up with the weather?  It is

freezing outside.  It IS August 25, right?

That's what my calendar says.  Maybe

I should reboot my phone.  Perhaps it is

wrong.  Or I'm still asleep and dreaming.

I look forward to summer all year

long.  It is NOT supposed to be cold

in August!

 

Happy Friday!

 

Flowers in her hair

This is a more unusual stitching because it

has straight  lines rather than the lines

crossing.  I almost didn't buy it because

of that, but once I stitched it I thought

it looked pretty good.

 

I didn't mention about my visit with

my mom on Tuesday.  It was really good!
She was alert and upbeat.  I haven't

seen her like that in a while.  I don't 

know if the antidepressants are kicking

in or what.  Although I don't think

the med would make that much difference.

Maybe the dementia goes back and

forth in personality?  I just can't find that

much on personality changes with

dementia.  I know my dad is getting

very depressed and is seeing the doctor

today.  He wants her home and I

don't blame him.  They've been together

61 years and now the house must

seem very empty without her there.

We've been exploring some other options.

 

The weather  has been cooler lately

so I took that opportunity to get the grass

mowed yesterday.  The brisk breeze

was a real help!

 

Happy Thursday!

Halloween house!

After many mistakes and lots of

bald spots, I have finally finished my

Halloween house!  It's not perfect,

but I think it's pretty good for my

first try.  I left glue strings from

my hot glue gun.  I thought it added

a little something to it.  I don't know

if you can see if from the picture,

but in real life it looks kind of 

like clear spider webs.  :)

This is the best picture.  I really 

need to get some mica chips for the

window if I make it again.

 Shot of the front

It would have looked better if I'd

had fibre fill for the chimney but

I didn't, so cotton had to do.  You

can't really see the pumpkins

on either side of the door, but they

are pretty cute.

Maybe I'll get the  die that has

the Christmas house next.  They 

have several other houses, but

those are the cutest, I think.  Well,

the beach house is pretty cute, too.

My craft room was a WRECK when I

got done.  There were little bits of

paper every where, glue on my self

 healing mat.  I love my goo-gone! 

The room is actually in order for

a change.  That doesn't happen too often.

I got my new stitching patterns, so

be prepared to see them.  With the

3D sheets, they'll be much better but

I still have a few from last time that have

the little girl images on them.

Happy Wednesday!

The PERFECT solar eclipse photo

I don't know who took this.  I borrowed

it from facebook.  It is an amazing

photo.  How did everyone feel during

the eclipse?  I was so emotionally

moved (hey, so were some of the 

meteorologists, so I'm not alone!)

I just kept thinking of God's

amazing handiwork.  Who could 

NOT believe in God after seeing

something that incredible? 

Here is the mark of God:

Is that not the most amazing picture

you've ever seen in your life?  And, in

case it is not a REAL picture (not that

anyone would ever photoshop something

like this....) I don't care.  It's still amazing.

I spent most of the day in front of the TV

watching the eclipse go across the country.

I didn't have glasses so I couldn't go look

myself, but I will say that about 2:15

it felt like it should have been around

5 pm, looking outside.  Very eerie feeling.

I've been working on my Halloween house

for the last couple of days, making mistakes

and throwing another one out, but I think 

I've got it this time.  I just need to let 

things dry well instead of hurrying through

it.  So maybe it will be ready to show

tomorrow or Thursday.  Meanwhile,

here's my card for today.  Can you

tell I love this die?  Everyone needs hugs.

I'm a big fan-as long as I know you.  If

I don't, stay out of my personal space...

I'm very protective of my personal space

and it's a huge area!

Whenever I look at the card on the computer

I see things I could have changed.  I think

it would have looked even greater if I'd

layered a black one behind it.  Oh well.

 

I'm going to lunch with Dianne today.

We didn't get to go last week so I'm

looking forward to it even more.

 

Happy Tuesday!

 

 

Total solar eclipse of the heart....

They played Bonnie Tyler's "total eclipse

of the heart" (Just that phrase) on the

weather channel this morning and

had dubbed in the word solar.  I

got a chuckle out of that.

It's probably kind of hard to see the

word "friend" but it's there hiding among

the flowers.  I cut out the word from

the flowers, then cut out 4 more pieces

and layered them together and the one

from flowers at the top then replaced

it in the original place.  I think it makes

a very cool effect.

 

I think God is telling me to slow down!  I 

forgot there would be communion yesterday,

so Coleen did the announcements as well.

I did do the prayer, though, and apparently

Pam did not have her eyes closed!  She said

I did a "fantastic job" and that I only made

the freaked out face once, briefly, then 

kept going.  She said she could see me

listening, processing, then interpreting

what was said.  I was really happy that

she thought I did well.  I think I need to

just work on things little by little. If you had 

told me last August that by January

I'd be signing songs in church I'd have told

you you were crazy.  But I started out slowly,

one song at a time, then maybe two, now I

am willing to sign all 5, so I think maybe 

that's what I need to do in this 

instance as well.   I learned the sign

for "scorpion" yesterday.  What a riot!

Happy solar eclipse day!

 

 

 

In His care

I decided to stamp directly

on the card which is dangerous

for me because I always screw

something up.  I carefully laid

the stamp down and pressed and

voila!  It was crooked.  Idea 

number two-stamp on another

paper which is kind of bunched

up against the stitching.  I had

to find just the right size die and

then I stamped on the new paper.

Voila!  crooked.  Now I KNOW I 

had it straight.  The stamp on

the wooden block is placed

cockeyed.  So it wasn't my fault

in the first place.  I didn't think

until just now that I could have

cut the stitching and matted that

onto another paper and still stamped

on the card, but that also would have

required me tilting the block just

right, something I probably am unable

to do...so here is the card in it's 

final form:

I think it looks OK, but it's not what

I wanted. But then we don't always

get what we want, do we?

Coleen reminded me that if I do

the announcements I also have to

sign the offering.  Whoever is

talking usually goes over why we

have an offering, if it is missions,

etc. and that Jesus told us we should

do this.  So I told Coleen maybe 

she could do it and she said, "No,

you committed."  Thanks.  I looked

up offering and it is a combination

of the signs "gather" and "money".

Check.  Got that part.  Now, what they

will say in preface to the offering is

another thing.  That's

where the art of interpretation

comes in.  I didn't realize I was

signing up to interpret anything.

I thought I was just learning

to be able to communicate with a

deaf person-not that I run into them

very often.  But I guess God has

other plans and I'll just go with them

and see where He takes me.  I'm

sure He has a plan.  He just hasn't

let me in on it yet.  Cathy, if you

are reading this I will remember:

JUST BREATHE!  :)

Happy Sunday!

Signs from God

Before I get into the title, I'll show

the card.  When I first started paper

crafting, brads and eyelets were

all the rage.  They even had books

on different ways to use them. And,

of course, being new, I bought them.

They're still kind of fun to look at.

So I decided to dig a few out

and make some flower centers

with them.

 

I thought everyone might be getting a little

tired of the stitching, but look out, because

more stitching cards are coming!

 

So, about the title.  I'm hearing that

people think the total eclipse of the

sun (which is going to be only about 80%

in my neck of the woods) might

possibly be a sign from God that the

end is near.  I've been thinking

the end is near pretty much all

my life.  I didn't need a solar eclipse

to convince me, just watch the news.

I just wondered what everyone else

thinks about it.  I personally, don't

trust anything to look at the eclipse

even a shoe box where I'm not looking

at the sun.  I'll watch it on TV, thanks.

My sight is my most precious sense.

But I do think it's amazing and

fascinating.  I might look outside

at the darkness, but not at the

sky.  In our area there probably

won't be many stars anyway, with all

the lights that will be on as soon as

it gets dark.  But back to God, I

am not sure if I think this may

be a sign from God or not. He certainly

can use something like this and the Bible

does say in some verses that the sun

and moon will darken.  This doesn't

seem like an attention-getter to me

though.  It's planned.  I think when God

darkens the sun, moon, stars it's going

to be a sudden event that is going to

take everyone by surprise.  Just my thoughts.

 

Happy Saturday!

 

Flower girl

I am enjoying the images of these

little girls, but it will be fun to

get the 3D images from Ann's

paper art.  They shipped a

couple of days ago.  The last time

I ordered I thought it would take

forever since it's coming from

Switzerland, but they are FAST!

There was another image I tried for this

card but every time I took the picture, no

matter the angle, it made this weird

line around the flowers she was holding.

I thought at first it was stems, but 

I'm not sure what it was.

We had some nice rain yesterday, but

no storms.  I don't think it was enough

to make a difference in how brown the 

grass is, either.  It was nice to have it

though.  I love the sound of it.  When

I worked nights I had CD's that I listened

to to help fall asleep.  One was rain, but

my favourite, of course, was the thunderstorm.

It's hard to find those CD's without music.

I'm taking Pam (Cody's) out to lunch today.

She's on vacation and we don't get to

spend a lot of time together, so  I thought

this would be a good time.  She's always

ready to help with B'Elanna when I'm not

going to get home in time or I end up in

hospital with my dad, things like that, and

I want her to know how much I appreciate

her help.  Love ya, if you're reading this!

Happy Friday!

Girls rule!

I went to my in-laws, Larry and

Laurel's last night to play cards.

We usually play phase 10 and then

a few games of Farkle.  We just call

it dice.  I never even knew it had a

name until a few years ago.  Anyway,

I won cards.  I also won one dice.

Laurel won two dice.  Larry won

nothing.  Sorry.  Girls rule!

We are extremely competitive

and try to set each other in cards

all the time.

It gets very crazy when we play!

 

I am having so much fun with these patterns.

I ordered a bunch more the other day and

got an email yesterday that they have

shipped.  This time I ordered the 3D sheets

with them so I don't have to figure out what

to put inside the design.  I wasn't sure the

first time around  how big the patterns 

would be, what the sheets would look

like, etc. so I only ordered one.   I just think

this company does such beautiful work

and it relaxes me so much to work on them.

 

I made a little building the other day and

made the same mistake as Tim Holtz-

a huge designer of crafts and dies-

(at least I'm in good company) by putting

the roof pieces on and forgetting that

I had a second story to add.  The roof

pieces added too much bulk and it

didn't sit right.  I got aggravated and

threw it away.  The stupid part was

TIM HOLTZ had already made that

mistake and even though I watched 

the video and had the opportunity to

learn from his mistake, I forgot when

I went to assemble mine.  So....I have

another cut out and I'm going to give

it another shot.  Maybe I should watch

the video as I'm making the structure.

No, that would be too easy.  Do it

first and if it doesn't work then look

at the instructions.  That's my philosophy!

 

Happy Thursday!