SO QUIET

So yesterday school officially began for another year.  The girls were gone for a couple of hours and then came home again.  But today is different.  They are away all day to return home once the afternoon bell releases them from their classes.  Meanwhile, it is very quiet at home, with just dad and myself here, with our sleeping grand-dog laying about somewhere.  I refer to our grand-daughters as our girls, as we have lived with them since their birth and they are very much a part of our lives.  We stay away from the family scene at night because we all need our private spaces.  Living in the same household does not mean constant interaction but we usually get a chance to say hi and goodbye when they leave for work and school.  I am closer to my daughter and we have tea in the morning before she goes to work.  I catch up on any news about them or about her friends and ours.  Here's a picture of "my" girls.  They complete our lives.

Vacation May 2016

AUGUST 2016

It has been over a year since I last posted here.  I have not been sick, or overloaded with other projects, but I guess just muddling along with life and overlooked keeping up my online journal.  My year has not been overwhelming but just running along the same path with little variation.  I guess that is why my writing has dribbled off into nothingness because I don't feel it is of interesting reading.  This year we took time to have a relaxing holiday over on Vancouver Island.  We rented a cabin for a month and left home behind.  We toured around the central part of the Island, and enjoyed meeting family members who live there.  We had visits to their homes and lovely luncheons prepared for us.  Meanwhile, we could come back to our cabin and enjoy the company of other vacationers living in nearby cabins and enjoy the view of the ocean from our front door.  Now that is relaxation.  But like all holidays it ended and we had to return home.  It was nice to sleep in our own bed and return to familiar things too.

Anniversary Weekend

Oh my goodness, I certainly have not kept up with my blog for months now.  I have no excuses for it.  I just didn't carry on with it, is all.  But here we are again, just three days past another anniversary for us.  This one makes 47 years since our wedding day.  Lots of living done in between.  Some of it was the normal, mundane type of things that repeat themselves over and over again.  And then there are bright spots of excitement that keep you going and wondering when the next one will come along.  But here is a photo of us now.  Not too bad I guess for Seniors.  Silver hair, receding hairlines, expanding waistlines seem to be our niche in life.  Made by our own hands and in some cases, lack of willpower, but like a reunion we had of cousins this past weekend, who cares.  We still had the same inner feelings and thoughts and sparks of our youth and all that shone through our outer selves.

Pictures on the side of my blog show us on our anniversary cruises to Alaska.  These were taken on our 34th and 42nd anniversaries

This time our cruising was to Vancouver Island, which only takes less than two hours from the mainland.  The trip is just as enjoyable, and we had the comfort of a buffet dining room experience for the crossing.

These photos are taken at a rental vacation house that my cousins had rented during their visit.  We had a family reunion of cousins which was a blast.  Some of the cousins had never met before and others had been so young, they just didn't remember each other at all, except from photos.  It was so enjoyable and something I don't think will be repeated by some members, as distance and age now enter into the equation.
But awkwardness was not a word that entered our time together over the weekend.  Now that's an anniversary to remember, even if we both forgot the actual day until 6 pm that evening.  We had a good laugh over that.  I guess what they say is true.  Those special days are just that, but they don't have to have the hoopla made of them when love still abounds.

Vintage Inchies

1"x1" inchies Vintage Art

These are some of the inchies that I created for a swap on SplitCoastStampers.
They are done on 1" squares, so everything has to be done in miniature size.  I double printed the butterflies and attached them over the top of the original image with dimensionals.  I also have a tiny flower punch and glued these onto the inchie for a dimensional look as well.  I used a metallic gel pen around the outside edges, as well as sponged the edges with taupe ink.

A little love....

Valentine's Day is coming up and there is one person that I must thank and show some love.  And that is my mother.  She resides in a seniors home with the care she requires and could not get at home.  But I visit every week and do her personal shopping and some of her laundry.  She likes her things done a certain way and they just don't do it right at the home.  Basically the industrial washers are too hot and her clothes are being shrunk.  So I don't blame her for wanting to keep her clothes nice.  I saw a pretty image online that I made into a special card for her and in it writing how much I appreciate and love her.  Take a look at my efforts to make her a "love" card.

I added the Valentines greeting to the face of the image and then cut the corners to  make it 

more interesting.  Down the sides I used a lacey strip for additional interest, but not to overwhelm

the card.  On the lacey heart I stuck pearl embellishments across the top, and a red dew drop on

the rose, while a pink crystal adorns the ribbon.  I think she will like it.

And to all of you Happy Valentine's Day

and I hope you can spend it with those you love.

Lack - si - daisy.....

My lack of posting in my blog has me wondering where my head is at.  But over the past two months I have been wrapped up in creating ATC cards for my swaps.  I think I bit off more than I can chew, but I have finally completed them and sent them on their way to my hostess.  I should get a whack of cards back before Christmas.

At the moment I am still crafting.  I'm busy making my Christmas cards and cutting all the fussy bits.  But I have kept them simple and hopefully after a raft of cards, within a manageable state of mental health.  And guess what I have even started Christmas shopping.  I think our gorgeous sunshine days have helped to lift the spirit.  You always want to accomplish something when it is sunny outdoors.

My sister has just had her novel published and has a second one being finalized for printing and distribution.  And her husband has just had his first book published showing his watercolour paintings.  His next one will contain his eclectic impressionist and expressionist styles.  Quite the family we have here.  My other sister writes poetry and I have done so as well and had some of them published in Poetic volumes.  I haven't pursued that avenue for a few years.  I am enjoying making my cards as my avenue of expression and relaxation.

As all of our Canadian holidays are over, I am looking forward to the Christmas season once again.  It is always a fun time to spend with my grandchildren.  They bring life to the house even as a teen and a pre-teen.  Christmas is family time for us.  So with that I need to get back to cutting, stamping and colouring my creations.

Sunset in the Valley

I sat at the computer, deep in concentration of my subject matter, when I looked up and out the window.  I saw the most beautiful sunset scene in front of me.  So very different and so colourful.  I keep my camera beside me, ready to take pictures of my crafting things, so I quickly snapped this photo before nightfall closed in.  And I only had moments to spare.  It was gone within minutes.

BEAUTY COMES IN FLEETING MOMENTS