What a weekend!

This weekend was spent with family on Friday and camping Saturday and Sunday.  My guy's mother and step-father as well as his brother & his girlfriend came down to visit us and we spent Friday with them.  We had not seen them since we moved three months ago.  It was nice to see them.  His mother, a real angel, brought me lots of crafty items.  I will have to take a picture of the items and post it soon.  I am just too tired to take & edit pictures this evening. 

This weekend was spent camping at an annual camping event that occurred about an hour and a half from us.  The event brought in about 2500 people and much artful expression.  We were able to see some friends from our previous home state two states and fifteen hours away.  We loved being able to catch up with and hang out with our friends. 

We got to the event Saturday evening, after spending all of Saturday shopping and packing up for a weekend of camping.  We checked out what we could prior to sunset and setting up camp and then enjoyed some time walking around.  It was nice to see the art people had created at their camps and to spend some time together, always very much appreciated and never taken for granted.

We went to bed fairly early for us (midnight-ish) and did our best to sleep in spite of the two "sound camps" on either side of our camp area (all of our friends camped together).  A "sound camp" is a camp whose contribution (entirely volunteer) is music via DJ'd music.  The music played day & night, pretty much 24/7, throughout the four-day event (since people were up at all hours, I'd imagine).  I slept deeply, a rare event for me, likely due to the heat and humidity in the tent; however, my guy did not sleep well because of the "sound camps." 

The heat and humidity were pretty overwhelming for campers, with temperatures upwards of 95 degrees and humidity around 20% to 30%, but we all made the best of it and enjoyed being there in spite of it.  It's hard not to enjoy an event filled with kind and interesting people, great art and artists, and good friends.

The river was a welcome spot in the camp area, many collected at beach and flat areas and swimming or standing in the river.  The occasional breeze and the shady spots were very appreciated as well.  I made sure that we walked around so I could take pictures of various camps and their art contributions (with regular breaks to go back to camp and sit in the shade while also hydrating heavily).  The weekend was challenging with the walking shoe/boot and a sore foot, but I was determined to fight through the painful moments, which I did. 

Sunday evening we decided to leave instead of leaving Monday morning as most campers do since my guy was not feeling terribly well and we both craved a good night's sleep and air conditioning and of course we missed the cat.  I cooked dinner on the camp stove, we ate, and then we packed up the car with our stuff. 

His brother & brother's girlfriend had also attended the event and they too chose to leave Sunday evening, so they also packed up their things.  They stayed a few hours later than us since my guy really was feeling awful, then they came to our home in the wee hours to spend the night before the long drive back to their home.  The air conditioning on the ride home was very nice, let me tell you!

We unpacked and brought up some of the things from the car, but we decided we would take care of the rest today (we didn't, so I imagine we will take care of it tomorrow).  I unpacked the coolers and made him a pizza since he was hungry, then we collapsed in the living room and watched one of our Netflix dvds.  We also made sure to give the kitty plenty of love too.  I have continued to give him as much love and as many pets as possible today.  He's my baby, you know.

Again, we went to bed much earlier than our usual time, very exhausted from the heat especially.  Luckily we had just gone to bed when his brother & his brother's girlfriend knocked to come in for the night, so we heard them and were able to let them in.  Good timing!  My guy & I slept like the dead and enjoyed sleeping in.  The day has been about complete relaxation and air conditioning.  

The cat has really loved having me home and has curled up next to me much of the day and evening, which has been really nice.  I refuse to get up when he is next to me, appreciating it so much.  I have made sure to take time amidst the blog reading and writing to give him lots of pets.  The day and evening has also, of course, been about my staying off of my foot for the most part, to give it a break. 

My foot did not feel the best during all of the walking, so I worried that it would set my healing process back some.  My foot seems to be doing pretty well in spite of that walking, though, which is great. 

I am going to return to blog reading and spending time loving on the cat asleep next to me.  Happy Memorial Day to those who have done their part to serve our country.

My little guy

My little guy who is not so little at around 20 pounds (he just cannot lose weight!) is my pride & joy.  Since we have no children and he has been in my life for eight years now (through trials and tribulations included), he is my "baby" and I spoil him like mad. 

Here are a couple of pictures of him napping in one of his favorite spots - the top of our IKEA bookcase:

I sure will miss him when we are out camping this weekend.  I always miss him when I am away from him.  *smile*

A productive day so far.

I have not felt terribly creative today, but had energy to do something. Without planning it I ended up organizing our fairly cluttered pantry. It looks much better, let me tell you. I realized just how badly we need to go grocery shopping this evening too when I organized the pantry and rearranged the fridge!

Here are a couple of pictures of the newly organized pantry:

After realizing just how badly we do need to go grocery shopping this evening I continued in productive mode by writing our grocery list. It is a page and a half long! Of course it also includes some items we need for our camping trip this weekend, but still...

Yes, I am going camping with my foot in the condition it is in. It still hurts when I walk without the walking shoe/boot, but we have been planning this camping trip for a few months, so I refuse to miss out on it.

Thinking of her.

My grandmother recently decided to have a lump the size of a baseball on her sternum investigated.  She was sent up to the Mayo Clinic for further tests (a state away).  She was asked to come back for additional tests two weeks later; however, she found a lump just behind her knee this past week and was asked to come in for tests this week, instead of next week.  She had the tests yesterday (Tuesday), sees a doctor on Thursday, and sees another doctor Friday to find out test results. 

My grandmother has had cancer four or five times in the past ten years, so we are of course quite worried about her.  She asked her children (my aunts, uncles, and mom) home this weekend, which she has never done before and so we are of course very worried now.  She may have to miss my aunt's wedding this weekend, which she very much wants to attend.  This would be the only one of her children's weddings she ever missed. 

I live four states away from my grandmother and before that far enough away that it was expensive and thus impossible for me to visit very often.  I feel bad that I have not been more present and do hope we can visit before it is too late (I hate even writing that).

My grandmother is by far the strongest woman I have ever known.  She was a child during the Great Depression.  She raised seven children, having her first child at 17 or 18.  She lost her husband to a sudden heart attack when he was 52, with one of their children still at home. She lost another husband in the past couple of years, after first enduring his abuse due to dementia and having to put him in a nursing home because of the dementia & related abuse.  She is an amazing woman and deserves to have more years to love and laugh and enjoy life.

I made this card to mail to my grandmother and my guy will mail it this evening.  I hope she likes it and takes the word inside of it to heart.

The Best Customer Service I've Ever Received

Gina K. Designs has officially provided me with the best customer service I have ever received.

Awhile back I ordered some things from Gina K. Designs.  One of the items I ordered was the Marvy Uchida Heart Punch.  The heart punch unfortunately did not punch more than two hearts and then stopped working.

I called and left a voicemail for Gina K. Designs that evening regarding it and how I might ship it back to them to exchange it for a working heart punch.  I received a voicemail the very next day from the Gina of Gina K. Designs the very next day.  She asked me to call that next day and they would send me out another punch.  She said there was no need to send the other punch back.

Soon after I called Gina K. Designs and spoke with someone at the company.  The person confirmed that there was no need to send the punch and promised that the next day they would send me a new one (since mail had already gone out for the day).  That was Friday.  I have already received the new one! 

I will forevermore shop from Gina K. Designs after receiving this outstanding customer service.  If you have not ordered from Gina K. Designs I highly suggest you do.  You will not be disappointed!

Robot, raised.

Here is a card I made recently with the raised effect.  I think it makes a very simple card better.  What do you think?

Here is a side view:

I made a few other robot cards as well, but of different layouts and colors but similar in simplicity.

 Stamp:  Recollections

The results are in

My pinky is fractured!  I get to wear this lovely "walking boot". Neat.

Mail goodness

A blog friend, the lovely Angela Harris, sent me some mail goodness.  I just love all the pretty goodies that she included! 

Short and simple today

I haven't been feeling quite myself today, as if I am coming down with something.  I do want to share a tag I made recently.  It is pretty simple, but I like it.

 

Stamp:  Hero Arts

Punch:  Marvy Uchida

An update and a card

Yesterday I finally went to a clinic to have my foot looked at.  I was provided with prescription-level ibuprofen and sent to get X-rays.  I got the X-rays today.  Hopefully before the weekend I will hear what is wrong with my foot.  It hurts worse every day, so hopefully something can be done.

I forgot to mention that the cheesecake was delicious!  Apparently it is common for cheesecake to crack.  Whew! We finished the cheesecake yesterday evening.  Once my foot is better I plan to make chocolate chip cookies. Mmm...

My guy installed Picasa on the laptop I am using at present.  So pictures can be posted to the blog again!  Yay!

Here is one of the cards I made recently.  It is a congratulations card for my aunt who is getting re-married over Memorial Weekend.

I put a mini Pop Dot behind each square to add some depth to the card.  It's amazing what that does for a card.  Here is a picture of one of the squares from the side.  

Stamp:  American Crafts
Punch:  Creative Memories

To the sofa with me!

This past Friday I injured my foot pretty badly.  I didn't think it was that bad and figured that my foot would feel fine by the end of the weekend.  Unfortunately, I am still unable to walk without pain and cannot move my toes without pain.  

My guy thinks I may have broken something in my foot.  As a result of the pain and the possibility I may indeed have broken something in my foot, I am attempting to stay off of it as much as possible.

I am not a person who sits still well.  I feel very lazy right now, pretty much confined to the sofa when not in bed at night to sleep.  I do take care of random chores when I am up anyway to use the bathroom, since I am determined to have a neat home; however, the vacuuming, the bathroom cleaning, and such are on hold.  

I spend much of my time on the sofa bloghopping (now that I have a temporary computer to use).  I also jump up to gather some craft supplies from my stash about once a day to get a card or two made while I am sitting about.  I can't not craft when inspiration strikes after all! 

I made two cards last night after being inspired during my blog hopping.  I will show those and all other cards I create, as I said previously, once my laptop is repaired (crossing my fingers big time!) and can use Picasa again and can upload them for posting.  I can't wait to post them!  *smile*

Temporary replacement found.

The laptop remains non-functional; however, my guy was able to get another computer functioning in the meantime. My guy & I are purchasing parts for my laptop with hopes of repairing it. I am crossing my fingers big time.

After two days I finally caught up on reading all of the new posts on the blogs I follow. Thank heavens for Google Reader! I read many, many blogs - far more than I have listed on the right column of my blog. To give you some idea, I had over 800 posts to read (according to Google Reader's count) when I got on to read blogs after being offline for four days! Craziness!

I have remained crafty during my absence, of course. I used a hot glue gun for the first time. That was a learning experience! I made some tags – some of my first. I made a unique and pretty card for a friend. I look forward to posting pics of my crafty creations when I am able. Unfortunately, pictures will be unable to be posted while I use this computer.

I will try to continue to post, regardless of the unavailability of images, Also in the coming days, I will be putting together an “About Me” page. If you have any specific questions answered as a part of this page, let me know.

RIP to my dear laptop.

My laptop died.  I will resume posts when we figure out what to do regarding the no-laptop situation. 

A Memorial Album

For some time I have been working on a memorial album for my father.  I scanned and printed more pictures for it last night and today put them into his album, creating and adding to layouts.  The album is now on hold while I search for photos from his last few years.  I attempted to take photos of the layouts, please excuse the results.  ;)

Here are some layouts from the album:

In memorial:  GWM - 1948 - 1996

Baked!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

This evening I attempted to bake a New York Style Cheesecake - without the spring form pan, hand mixer, and food processor the recipe mentioned. I neglected to read the instructions very carefully either - not my strong suit, heh! I made due. The cheesecake ended up cracked every which way. The cheesecake is supposed to be refrigerated overnight. We will see how it tastes tomorrow. Stay tuned! ;) I will try the much more simple Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipe next time around.

Rocket Science?

I hope to find a "You can do it!" stamp at some point to stamp below this fab rocket.

 

Stamp:  Recollections

Inspired by another

I wanted to do a card along the lines of this one I found online.  I didn't have a ribbon punch or a ribbon that coordinates with this color of paper, so I made flowers for the center instead.  I need to pick up some vellum-type paper as well.   I think it worked out well.

Home

I made this sign (?) for above our fireplace yesterday evening.  At some point I may turn it into a banner.

A close-up of the sign:

One Challenging Task

I found myself in a rather challenging spot yesterday evening when I set out to create a birthday card for my grandmother's husband.  It took a very long time to come up with a card for him with limited supplies, limited examples on the many craft blogs I frequent, and uncertainty of any hobbies he has from which to draw inspiration.

The following is the card I created for him.  If anyone has examples of cards for an adult male, please do share! I would love to get some ideas.

Stamp:  American Crafts

Cathedral of Junk

My guy & I visited the Cathedral of Junk in March.  If you get to Austin, TX, it is definitely worth a visit.  The artist is very nice and always open to questions or to be in a picture or two.

Here is my layout of our visit to the Cathedral of Junk.*

*My guy has requested his privacy be protected, so his face is blacked out.  The layout is still visible though.  :)

Beauty is everywhere

This evening we went to the local lake to enjoy the perfect weather.  The temperature was close to 90 degrees, the sun shone brightly, and there was not a cloud in the sky.  Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of our day.

Pink!

I created a girl's birthday card today out of a paper I cut into a triangle with a paper trimmer and flowers cut with a Marvy paper punch.