Rose ATC cards

The kids and I had a great time

at Outback last night-mostly

courtesy of my oldest son, Nathan,

who gave me a gift card last year and 

the year before.  Since I almost never

get out that way, I had them both and

dinner cost all three of us 8. and change

plus the tip.  Not bad.  Thanks, Nathan!

These are rose ATC's that I made yesterday

so I left one for the server.  She was so

nice and attentive without being intrusive.

That is a good server.  I should know, I

used to be one.  😀

I'm cleaning for my friend Bob, and his brother

Nick, today.  I hate to clean.  Their house is

cleaner than mine.  But they pay well, so I

can't complain about that.  Plus, I got a

bluetooth speaker a few months ago and

now I can play songs from my phone.  I

have  a lot of songs I've added to it so

there's plenty to listen to.

Happy Thursday!

Remembering

Today four years have passed

since John went Home to be with 

the Lord.  I miss him just as much 

as the first day, but I know he's healthy,

happy and strong.

A new family.  We were all so young!

My favourite of all times.  This is 

after he had both cataracts removed

and the things he had to wear at night

to protect his eyes.  John as "the fly".

Cody, Pam and I are going to Outback

later today to have some family time and

remember John.

Happy Wednesday!

Heavenly

This is the other angel card I

mentioned yesterday.

This is the one I was originally looking

for an image for.  Sometimes I make

a stitched card that is just a border and

then I have no idea what to do with it.

I'm not very good at planning ahead.

 

Class went well yesterday and I think

I'm even  getting the tiniest bit better

at fingerspelling.  Maybe.  At least Sam

could understand what I was signing, so

that's an improvement and I understood

most of what she was signing.  Sometimes

my brain sees it but it really doesn't, if

you know what I mean.  Like your eyes

are paying attention but your brain isn't.

Plus I had a headache yesterday and

also today.  Because.....

 

It's raining!

 

 I'm not complaining, either.  Yesterday it

was fairly warm out, but the breeze made

it feel colder.  It's damp and rainy today,

but that's spring weather right?  I think I'm

going to have to plant grass seed around

my tree in front.  Today would have been

a good time to do that.  I could not get

the leaves raked last year between

rain and wind and they laid there too long.

I hope I can get it going before mowing

season takes hold.

 

Lunch with Dianne today!  

 

Happy Tuesday!!

 

Angels

I bought some beautiful Angel

stickers a while ago, used one

and put the rest away.  While looking

for an image for a card I found them

and thought they would look great

on the cards I had.  I'll show the 

other one tomorrow.

 

Isn't she beautiful?!

 

Church was great yesterday.  Cody and

Pam came and they were welcomed

warmly.  We have a great church.

My songs went well, even the brand

new one, so I was happy about that.

The kids, Pam and I went out to

lunch and had a fun time.  Pam and

I went shopping at dollar tree afterward.

That is dangerous for me since they

have lots of candy right now.  I had to

buy a bag of sixlets.  I tried not to.  I

walked away twice.  But in the end

I couldn't resist them calling my  name.

Sin is pleasurable for the moment   But

a moment on the lips is forever on the hips.

I'm living proof.  Not that eating candy

is a sin, but the way I eat it it is, LOL!

 

It's going to be a busy week, so if you

don't see much of me, that's why.

 

Happy Monday!

 

Wedding dress

I've seen this type of card before

and always wanted to try it, but 

generally speaking   I'm not all

 that good at punch art.  I was

pleasantly surprised at how this

one came out.

Inside:

The sentiment is embossed in gold.

I'm not sure I like the dark blue 

heart, but I don't think anything else

would have looked good as a mat.

I do love the sentiment itself.

I went into Hobby lobby the other day

and they've got the place completely

torn apart and things in the scrapbooking

part that aren't supposed to be there.

As I was checking out I asked the clerk

if they were eliminating the scrapbooking

-GASP-

She said no, that they were moving things

around and getting new stuff.  Yay!  I

was getting kind of bored with the stuff

they have now and coming out of hobby

lobby without buying something is almost

a crime!  I can't wait.  Meanwhile they've

got stuff 50% off in some places and it's

stuff I DON'T WANT!  Another crime.

I have tried and tried to find things I

want at that discount.  I really have.

Maybe I'll have to go back and spend 

some more time there...

Happy Sunday!

 

Red rose

This is the sympathy card that I hope

I don't need any time soon.  I like 

how it turned out.

Something I really, really need to take to heart!

 My biggest problem is # 1.  I have been told

that (in signing) I have more skill than I think

I do.  I'm glad they think so!  I know I do, it's

just a matter of trusting myself-and God.  I'm

not sure what the magic word or cure is.

I pray about it.  I was raised in a very negative

household so I'm sure that has had an 

effect on me, but you'd think I'd be over

that by now....

I'm very excited because tomorrow Cody and

Pam are coming to church.  Pam (mine, naturally)

is going to sign the first two songs and I

am signing the last 3.  I'm really  looking forward

to having them there. 

Happy Saturday!

Backward fold

While looking for something else

I came across this backward

fold.  The woman in the video said

that she had accidentally  stamped 

on the wrong side of the card and not

wanting to throw it away, thought up

this great fold.  I thought it was

so awesome I had to try it for myself

so this is my version.

Inside:

The card opens to the right, not the left.

Totally open:

wild, huh?!  I thought it was a pretty cool

way to fold a card.  This is a stitched rose

from a sympathy card which I'll show tomorrow.

I, thankfully, don't need one at this time,

but if I do sometime, I will have it on hand.

It was the last card in a set of patterns.

Happy Friday!

Black ice

Thankfully the snow missed us this

round-and hopefully no more

rounds!  So no real black ice.

This is a black ice technique.

I don't think I have the right kind of

silver card stock so I may get the

metallic sheets and try it again, but

 I like how this turned out. 

It was kind of hard to get a good photo

because of the shiny card stock.  I turned

off the flash but I still had to have a 

light on and it increased the shininess.

I met Coleen for coffee yesterday and

we went over the new song.  Much of

the things I glossed were the same

as hers so that was pretty cool.  The 

few things that weren't the same as

she glossed it was things that I hadn't

even done because I wasn't sure.  Then

we watched a video of someone signing

the song-surprisingly I didn't think

of that.  She signed it pretty much the

same way we had glossed it.  Very cool!

This is the completed wedding card.
I decided to go with the white on blue. 
The rings and beaks are gold 
although it's hard to see that.
 

Happy Wednesday!

Romance is in the air

These cards aren't finished, just

kind of laid together because I can't

decide which  I want to use.  I like

the sparkly one but I think white on

blue shows up a lot better.

Whichever one I choose will be for Pam's

daughter, Samantha and fiance, Josh, 

who are getting married in may.  I think 

I will end up going with the white one.  

Does anyone have an opinion on which

one I should go with?  Maybe I should 

do a third and make one bird in

white and the other in black?!  That

might be pretty cool.

It's going to be a busy afternoon.  I am

meeting Dianne for lunch, then early 

afternoon I'm meeting Coleen for coffee.

We have a new song this week so she

told me to gloss it and we will meet up

and see what the final decision is. 

I can guarantee that the final decision

will be whatever she came up with

because I've never really glossed anything.

But I think some of what I came up with

is usable and is also easily signed.

Thankfully it's a slow song so I should

be able to learn it quickly. 

Happy Tuesday!

I can only imagine

 I'm naming this card "I can

only imagine  because she looks

like she is lost in thought and 

also because of the movie!

The weekend started out roughly

for reasons I won't go into, but

it certainly ended up  wonderfully.

Church was great, and one of our

deaf friends came.  He told us

that he intends to make our

church his home church again

so we are excited about that.

Yesterday Pam and I went to Fort

Wayne so she could show me where

CITI is and also where her daughter's

wedding will be held.  We had lunch,

then went and saw the movie "I 

can only imagine" .  What an amazing

film.  When it was over the audience

applauded!  I don't think I've ever been

to a movie where it was applauded

afterward.  If you have a chance to see

it,  you will not regret it. 

I'm planning on having lunch with

"Cody's Pam's"  mother, LuAnn

this afternnoon, then class tonight.  

It's going to be a fairly busy week. 

 I like it that way! 

Happy Monday!

Strawberries and flowers

Isn't this adorable?  I don't know if

robins eat anything but worms as

a general rule, but I'm telling you

(and my dad refuses to believe it's true)

I had a robin on my feeder one year

eating sunflower seeds.  I was pretty

surprised as I have never seen  a robin

eat seed.

It was a lot of fun last night.

I got 52 out of 60 so that's not

too bad.  I got tripped up at

the bank since I am not good

at numbers, signing or in 

any other way...and the stupid

electronics store.  I hate that one.

But I did fairly well on those, just

not as good as I hoped. It's the

experience, though.

Lili is being a jerk today and screaming

bloody murder.  She wants to get out

of her cage and I'm not ready to do

that yet.  Generally she sits patiently

and waits but not today.  I do not get

her out when she is screaming because,

like a child, if I give her what she wants

I am rewarding the screaming and more

is sure to follow.

Happy Friday!

Tonight's the night!

This is the 5th in a set of 6 cards.

I think I should have made the

flowers a little darker as they 

kind of blend in, but in real life

they don't look quite as close

to the green colour.

Tonight!  Deaf, deaf world is tonight!

I'm really looking forward to it.  The 

first time I went I was so scared, but 

I did better than I expected to.  This

year I'm really excited about it. Plus,

it's fun to all ride together.  We take

a van from the church.  It's a "field

trip" and everyone who goes has

a great time.  Deaf, deaf world is

to let hearing people experience what

it would be like in a deaf world.  

Therefore, no talking allowed.  Period. 

The people at the stations are very

friendly and helpful especially if they

understand that you're a beginner.

And trust me, they know...LOL

Except for the lady selling fire alarms...

This  year I know enough to say, "I

know what you're saying, but I'm 

not sure how you want me to respond".

Even Pam was confused.  She just

kept signing the same thing to me.

I don't remember how it turned out

but I do remember I was very frustrated

with her because I had no clue what

she wanted from me.  Usually they 

prompt you; I have one for $10.00,

one for $20.00, which one do you

want?  Things like that, but she just kept

signing the same thing over and over

and over and over and over and

over and...well, you get the idea.

Happy Thursday!

I didn't need facebook

Isn't this clever?  It is part of the

stamp set with the one that says, 

"someone I love was born today"

  It's a great set.

I see Stephen Hawkins died, and on

Pi day, too.  How appropriate.  He

was, I will concede, a brilliant man.

Unfortunately, I think he was very

surprised to find God waiting at

the other end of that tunnel (or

however we get there) considering

the fact that he believed and 

told everyone there was no God. 

Hmmm, I wonder if he will get a

chance to shake Billy Graham's

hand before he is sent to wherever

he will spend eternity.  I am not God.

I don't have the right to judge,. But

my Bible says that if you don't

accept Jesus as your Savior you won't

be spending eternity in Heaven. 

 I'm truly sad for him. 

I've got some running around to do

this morning and then I'm going to

get some things done here at home-

and yes, I did that yesterday, too.

Not enough, but some.

Happy Wednesday!

Sign language birthday cake

Our Friend Rosemary makes awesome

cakes.  Last year she made a cake for

Pam that had some kind of sign

on it, I can't remember what, maybe

the alphabet.  This is this year's

cake .  We celebrated her birthday

and Judy's since Judy's is Saturday.

Judy was a St. Paddy's day baby!

It was an apple cake and sooooo good.

Really rich, but really good!

Yellow daisies?  I don't have a clue.

I have an early appointment this morning.

When I say early I mean 8:45.  I'm not

sure what possessed me to do that, but

I guess I get it over with early.  I'm

having lunch with Dianne after that.

Well, not exactly after that.....😜

THEN I need to get some stuff done.

The important word here being "need".

Will I get anything done?  Who knows?

My guess is no.  LOL!!

Happy Tuesday!

I love you...

Happy birthday to my best friend,

Pam.  I hope she has a wonderful

day.  This is what I am giving her:

(she doesn't read this, LOL)

When I got it I realised that the 

charms all bunched up together so

I asked my sister in law to make 

a couple of beads for it.  She makes

really beautiful glass beads.

This is another card from the new

set of patterns:

It reminds me of an upside down

heart.  I wonder what it would look

like if I turned it right side up, then

put the flower on top  of the

heart and eliminated the two top leaves.

Maybe I'll give that a try sometime.

So...I am taking a big step in faith.

I have felt like God is leading me to learn

sign language and I don't yet know why,

but if I don't learn receptive skills,

it's not a lot of use.  So I am going to go

to a workshop next month (I've never 

been to one before) that is NOT voice 

interpreted-that's scary for me!  I've

been told that they usually separate 

people if they know you know each

other.  Also, you  have to participate.

Which  may be a bit difficult for me if

I haven't been following what they

are talking about. I am trusting God on

this.  That's also scary for me because

I want to handle things and I just have

no control over the fact that I have 

virtually  no receptive skills.  I've been 

going to the deaf chats and I am a little

better but that's once a month.  I need

a deaf friend.  Anyone want to apply?

I need prayer.

Also, on Thursday is deaf, deaf world

at the university.  I'm excited.  The one

other time I went after only having one

year of sign I got 6's and 7's out of 10's.

At each "station" you have to sign

to the person there.  It can be a restaurant,

a bank, a real estate office, hospital,

etc.  you sign to them, they sign to you

and you are evaluated on your ability

to sign and understand.  Hopefully

I've gotten better in the last two years,

LOL!  I'm really looking forward to it.

Happy Monday!

I lost an hour last night

Why oh why couldn't Indiana

have stayed on Central time?

Part of the state did.  Not my part,

though.  I hate changing time.  I

had a headache all day and then

couldn't fall asleep.  Then lost 

an hour.  Sigh.  

On to the card.  I have been having

a lot of fun with this set.  The sentiments 

have had to be changed because some

of them said "good luck" or "happy

anniversary" so I made them all with

"thinking of you" and "happy birthday"

sentiments. 

I hope everyone remembered to change

their clocks.  Here's a late reminder

if you didn't:

I love Yoda!  He kind of talks in

sign language with the subject

first.  Kind of.  OK, it's a little bit

of a stretch but it's close.  Most

people reading this don't know sign

anyway so I can get away with it!  😜

Speaking of which, I have to practice

my songs.  I'm signing the last two

this week, then nothing next week (yay!)

and then the week after that all 5, I

think.  It depends on how well I can

do them since I don't know several 

of them.  Pam has offered to help.

Cody and his Pam are probably going

to be in church that week, too, since

it fell apart a few weeks ago due to

the lousy weather.  It had BETTER

not snow that weekend....I'm just

putting in my order now for good

weather!  Do you think that will help?

Happy Sunday!