Well, Dang!

I don't know if I caught this off of Jake, or just picked it up from a sick human. I have a head cold, complete with a slight fever. So. The day is being spent on the computer, doing laundry, and possibly watching old movies on Turner Classic. With a large box of Puffs alongside of me. And a dog or two.

Have a good day. Please stay healthy!
Linda

A Sick Puppy

Jake and Gracie last June

Jake, who hardly ever is sick or refusing to play with Gracie, has been down since Sunday. Last night he coughed off and on all night. I hate it when one of the dogs is ill. It makes me feel bad, because they can't tell you where it hurts, but you can see it in their eyes that something is just not right.

Both dogs get Bordetella vaccinations. But as I found out this morning, that shot is for one strain of viral infection. It's one of the worse strains and can lead to other more serious infections. But it won't prevent the dogs from catching another virus. My boy picked up something, and it scared me.

Turns out he is okay, but now on antibiotics because his lymph nodes were slightly inflamed, and he would start to cough if the vet felt his throat. There is something going around the dog community, just as there is a nasty viral respiratory infection going around the humans. Gracie is healthy. This is a good thing, but we want Jake back on his little paws, too. As we were leaving the vet's office, two more owners came in with dogs coughing, just like Jake. Dang.

Hope you are all healthy, dogs and humans alike.
Linda

Beautiful Weather

These are a few of the cards I made for the craft show next weekend. To tell you the truth, it's kind of hard to get into the spirit of making Christmas cards when the weather is so incredible. Late November, and we will be in the mid 60's today. Yesterday was also warm, sunny, and like a dream. I do remember other late autumn/winter months where we had balmy breezes, but certainly not recently. Maybe central Indiana is finally going to get a break.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I did. Today is sheep herding day. Gracie will have fun running around the fields. She is doing very well.

Enjoy yourselves.
Linda

Happy Thanksgiving

From June of this year

We hope you and yours have a wonderful day, and take just a moment to count your blessings. We did. Lots of dog kisses this morning. I am having dinner with friends, and if the weather cooperates, will take the dogs for a very long walk afterwards. Right now it is misty, overcast, and cold.


Enjoy your day.
Linda

New Cards

I've been busy getting ready for our craft show on December 3rd. This is the way my mind works: if I don't sell any cards, I have a ready supply to send out to family and friends this year. Yea!

Lots to do between now and Thanksgiving. I have been invited to spend the day with friends, and will bring the dessert. I've not made this before, but it sounds delicious. A four layer pumpkin cake with a cream cheese/pumpkin filling between each layer. Hmmmm. Is this on Weight Watchers? Why no, I don't think so. Too bad, I'm eating one slice of it anyway.

Have a great day.
Linda

The Scrap Room

My bargain shutter in the studio

Details

Several months ago I saw a photograph of a scrapbooking studio where the woman had propped up old shutters, and was using them as storage. I loved the idea. I like the shabby look anyway. So I talked Cathy (yeah, right) into going with me to a local antiques/primitives store to browse for shutters. We found this one. It didn't fit into my car, so Cathy had to deliver it the next day in her truck. She has kicked herself repeatedly for not buying the mate to mine.

The general idea is that you can stick envelops of embellishments into the shutter openings. As you can see, it works rather well. This, of course, is not all of the embellishments I own. Good grief, no. I joke that I could open my own scrap store right out of my spare bedroom. In the first photo you can also see white bookcases to the left of the shutter. The baskets on top of the bookcases hold embellishments as well. This third bedroom is nothing but scrapbooking/card making/craft supplies. It has a double closet that is full as well. Along with a drafting table, a 6 foot table, and a 4 foot table.

I am out of room. Seriously? I could use a space twice as big as this bedroom. It is jammed packed. However, I know where everything is (kind of), and it definitely helps me to be organized when I am in the mood to create something.

Gracie is not allowed to touch anything. Nor is Jake. That doesn't stop them from dreaming....as you can see in the above shot.

Have a good day. It's raining here. It's cold. It is a good day to work in this very room.
Linda

Rainy Sunday

Good Morning. It isn't, but hey, we have to start somewhere...

It has been a very mild November in Central Indiana. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. You know. The howling winds, ice, snow, football fans..... Yes, the Superbowl will be in Indianapolis. So glad I live outside of the city and have absolutely no reason to venture into it during that time frame.

I haven't been taken a lot of photographs lately. Bad dog mom. Bad. So am posting some oldies. But will have some new scrapbook/altered art/greeting card pics soon. Lots going on. I have also added a button to the right where you can see my Pinterest board. Love Pinterest. Now instead of trying to remember what I saw where on the net that inspired me, I can pin it. If you haven't explored that yet, please do. Lots of fun.

Have a great Sunday.

Miss Gracie, The Diva

Mr Jake, My boy

Linda

Just Stuff

Me, with Sarge and Gracie October 2009

I don't know what has brought this on, but I have been thinking about Sarge a great deal lately. I miss him. Don't get me wrong, I love Jake and Gracie and am completely happy and content with these dogs, but ..... There is always that "but".

I think, ( and what the hell do I know?), that the guilt over losing Sarge pops up in my head every few months, and that brings the memories of those horrid 15 days to the forefront. These are the days that Gracie and Jake get extra hugs, extra petting, a longer walk. I have tried to instill in Jake that I am his forever Mom, this is his forever home, and I feel I have succeeded. No matter what, he seeks me out. He is the first one in the door. When I drive with the dogs in the back seat, Jake stands with his front paws on the console, and will often put one paw on my arm or shoulder. If I come to a stop and turn towards him, I usually get a sniff or a kiss. I am the one who put the leash on him and walked him out of the shelter. Me. No one else.

The longer I own dogs, the more I learn about their behavior, and mine. I can't imagine my life without them. Yes, there are days where I would like total peace in the house. But then it would just be a quiet house, not a home filled with dog hair and lots of love.

Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by.
Linda

Graphic 45 box

Front of the box, with it closed

The box opened, without the mini album inside

One side of mini album

Reverse side of mini album

I saw one of these boxes done up in the Graphic 45 ABC Primer papers a few months back, and couldn't wait to get my hands on the products. That's the problem: the designers have access to the products months before us lowly common people do. That's okay, really. Gives us time to plot how we can change it.

This was a class at Allyscraps about 3 weeks ago, and we had a blast doing it. It isn't as difficult as it may appear. The papers are so vivid in color, and everything blends so well together, it was just a delight to work with.

Going to work on some projects today. We have 67 degrees (November, people!), high winds, and more rain coming in. The dogs and I had a nice, long walk, and now they are ready for a nap. Leave mom alone to do her thing.

Have a great day. Be creative.
Linda

Driving

Put the dogs in the car this morning for the short drive to the park. I wanted to get our walk in before the rain starts. We had a very pleasant walk, although fought the wind the entire way, and it was time to come home. Ahhh. And there lies the problem.

The park in Avon is on a main highway that has 4 lanes, with a median strip so drivers can pull over to wait for a chance to merge, make a turn, etc. I am in the median strip waiting to merge into eastbound traffic, when this young man in a white car comes flying at me, doing (I swear I am not making this up) 65 mph. IN THE MEDIAN. He wants to turn left onto a street just west of me. I am not able to move over into traffic, they are moving at 55 mph plus, nor am I suicidal that I would pull into oncoming traffic. So I moved as far as I could because this asshole never slowed down. He passed me so close, I swear I could smell his aftershave.

Do you think he heard what I yelled out the open window? Want to guess what it was?

Have a great day. Be safe.
Linda

Christmas Cards

I'm back. And once again I apologize for being a bad, bad blogger. I do have an excuse, lame that it is, but I thought it was a pretty good one. Last Saturday I finally attended the all day workshop and certification for AFAA Group Fitness Instructor. It went rather well, but I won't have the results for another 3 to 5 weeks. IT'S OVER! That is me shouting.

I am now in charge of another blog as well as this one. I will be doing the entries for Allyscraps, and if you want to see what that is all about, just click on the Allyscraps link to the right, and look for "our blog" listed on the left. So my new mantra is "organization, organization, organization."

Winter arrived this past week in central Indiana. Crap. We had about a half inch of snow on the ground Friday, but it is now gone. Going to be a beautiful weekend, and the dogs and I are heading out for sheep herding this morning. I am actually looking forward to it.

The products used in the above cards were Glitz Vintage Blue papers (blue cards), Reminisce Santa paper, card stock, baker's twine, and red bling. The stamps are from Tim Holtz - the holly, post card, and Merry Christmas. All of the shapes were cut on a Cuttlebug with Spellbinder's Nestabilities. Love them. Wish I could afford to own all of them. The School Days card is from Graphic 45's ABC Primer line and stamps.

Thanks for stopping by, and I will be a better blogger. Promise. Enjoy this weather. It will not last, dang it all!
Linda