Another Life Event

I have stood beside my husband, my partner of 42 years, through yet, another medical event. Three and a half months ago, quite accidentally, they found an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) on a CT scan of his leg and back. After numerous further tests and specialist appointments, it was finally repaired today. We were worried, because he was like a ticking time bomb, a 6+ cm. bubble in his main artery could burst at any time. He has already been through a fire at age 6, a war in Vietnam where he was severely injured twice, a couple of car accidents, a motorcycle accident, and then the BIG one, a heart attack with quadruple bypass, kidney failure, kidney dialysis, a right peritoneal bleed, sepsis, c-diff, and staph infections, a pulmonary embolism, defibrillator, 3-1/2 toes amputated, and now this AAA. You've heard of cat's with 9 lives, right? I don't know which life Jim is on now, but my hope is to keep him around for awhile longer. Because, you see, he's my best friend and I know God is keeping him around for a really, really, good reason!

On a Pretty Day in May......

"This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad."  Well, the first good thing that happened was that I woke up.  Could have been the alternative, and then I would not be writing this!  Next, it truly IS a beautiful day, but ALL days I am thankful for. 

Let's talk about Scrapbooking!  I never have enough time for it and wish I could do more.  I work from home and really do have to work and I work HARD.  I am taking a break right now to post this, but then...back to the grind!  We have scrapbooking on Friday night this week, so I will have to start gathering my stuff tonight.  I have several albums in progress to choose from, but think I will choose 2010.  I am behind, of course, but in scrapbooking, you are NEVER behind, just having fun.  Working with digital scrapbook programs saves a lot of time and they look great.  I am using Smilebox right now, the paid subscription, and I use it for scrapbook pages, greeting cards, etc.  TIP:  PRINTING:  If you send the scrapbook page to Smilebox, they are the most reasonable in cost.  Personally, I also think it is the easiest site to use. 

I must start using up the paper and albums I have in my stock closet.  It is growing, but I always hate to pass up good deals, and/or, paper and albums i just LOVE.

We are planning a Scrapbook Retreat for July at Petticoat Junction in TN.  Can't wait!  Doing some art these days also, and trying to incorporate it with my scrapbooks.

Till' next time....................

Barb

A New Year....2012!

I can't believe it's 2012!  The years are just flying by.  I am getting older, stiffer and heavier.  I can't do anything about the "older," but want to get in more exercise and eat healthier.  Oh, hasn't that been my resolution for the past 15 years?  Why is it that I haven't paid attention and stuck with a program?  I am busy, but aren't we all?  My day is always crammed full of work and projects, and exercise and eating right come in last.  Sound familiar?  I know I won't do it right EVERY day, but if I could follow a program 5 days out of 7....that would help.  I am going to try really hard.

I have a dear friend who is blogging.  She leaves tomorrow for China with her husband to pick up their new baby girl, who is 15 months old.  We are all sooooo excited for her!

The last time I blogged I talked about my dad, then before that, my trip to England.  The trip was fantastic!  The Queen Mary II was the best ship I have ever been on.  The highlight was Scotland.  Beautiful country!

The holidays were fun decorating for and shopping for the grandkids.  I just finished getting down the last of the decorations until next Christmas.  I am supposed to scrapbook this weekend, which will be fun if everyone can get together.

Then we will be getting ready for another trip, to St George Island, Florida for the month of February.  I will get in a lot of scrapbooking and sewing there.  Can't wait!  Jim likes to fish, so he will be doing a lot of that.  And we love to cook seafood, so that will be a plus for the diet.  The kids and grandkids will be coming down for a long weekend on the beach.  That is exciting and they are excited too.  The only bad part is the packing and the 6-1/2 hr drive.  But it is worth it to be gone for a month in a warm place in the middle of winter!

Until next time......

Barb

In Memory of Dad......

Yesterday was my father's 82nd birthday, but he left this world 24 years ago.  I still miss him and when I visualize his smile, I tear up EVERY time.  I'm glad that I was not a disappointment to him.  He believed in working hard and going after what you wanted to do in life.  I did,  and I would not have changed anything.  He would have still been proud of my sister and I today, 24 years later.  

What is success?  Is it having the best job, the best husband, the best house, the best children?  Or is it  being a good person; charitable, a good wife and mother, a good neighbor, and a happy, responsible, hard working soul committed to the Lord?  A house should be a home, a gathering place for family, clean and well kept, but it doesn't have to be mansion.  On our day of reckoning, when He reviews our life and what we did with it....will he say, "Well done."?  That, my friends, will be success.

Barb

From Scrappin' to Sewin'.......

I am going on vacation in about 5 weeks!  So, I have this great craft room that I scrap, sew, sketch and paint in.  It is a pretty good sized room, but I have removed most of my paper crafts into baskets for the next couple of weeks.......so I could SEW!  We are flying to London, staying there a few days and then renting a car and driving up into Wales & Scotland.  Then we will drive back to down into Southampton and embark on a 7 day transatlantic cruise on the Queen Mary 2.  It seems this ship operates a little differently than the past cruises we have gone on.  It is usually casual every night,  except for the 2 formal nights.  But, this one has FOUR formal nights, 1 semi-formal night, and 2 elegant casual nights.  My husband, Jim will have to wear a jacket EVERY NIGHT!  He is okay with it, though, really.  So, I have decided to make some dresses.  I went overboard at the fabric store and there is now 15 yards of fabric I have to turn into "something" by the end of August!  I have the top of the black satin gown finished, now just to sew on the bottom and put in the zipper.  It is looking good! The next will be a silver sequin jacket and gray skirt, then the taupe lace, shantung and satin 3 piece suit, the black shantung and snakeskin print sheath dress for semi-formal, and finally 2 shrug jackets to top off the black satin gown, so I can accessorize differently, being able to wear the gown twice! I also have a couple of bags to make that will lie flat in the bottom of my suitcase!  It is fun, though, isn't it?  I love to CREATE.....from paper to fabric to canvas!  Happy Crafting, for whatever you do, and however it turns out, it IS an original, made by you, and it made you very happy creating it.  Peace and be happy!

Barb

The Peacock Croppers a.k.a. PCOC Croppers

We have a group down at the church and we get together once a month in the Fellowship Hall to scrapbook.  It's very casual, some come for a couple of hours, some stay 3 or 4.  Whoever wants to leaves their stuff there and comes back on Saturday morning.  Some wear pj's on Friday night.  We listen to music and gab, some are making scrapbooks, some are making cards, we ask for advice on our projects, and just have a laid back, good time.  Oh, and we eat!  Some bring homemade goodies, some shop at the store, and some bring nothing (me), but we ALL eat.  I usually run late from working all day, that's why I don't bring anything, but that's okay.

Last night was our night, we all look forward to it.  We had a great time and went back this morning and cropped a while, cleaned up, hauled everything back home, until next month.  I try to plan my layouts in advance, so I don't bring too much and bring the right stuff.  And once a year, in the spring, we go on a weekend scrapbook retreat.  The last two years we have stayed at the Snowbird Retreat on Smith Lake in Crane Hill, Alabama.  A beautiful house, 3 levels, decks overlooking the lake, and a hot tub.  The proprietor comes in and cooks our 3 meals a day, cleans up,  and all we have to do is crop, sleep and eat! It is a perfect way to spend a weekend, as we did in April. 

Digital Scrapbooking

This is my "Peace" corner in my scrapbook room.

This is my first blog EVER!  I am a busy lady, but ALWAYS find time to scrapbook.  I have been scrapbooking since 2005 and started with the traditional method, 12 x 12 paper, stick on letters, and old photos.  Sometimes, when I look at how I started, I want to re-do them, but then I think not.  Each new album adds a new spice to how far I have come through learning on websites, my friends that I scrap with, magazines, and especially all the new technology!  I do a lot of digital scrapbooking now, but still use the traditional method in the mix, by using 11 x 8.5 landscape format on 12 x 12 paper.  I embellish my pages using my bling and Cricut letters. 

I have started painting on canvas recently, so I carried this theme to my albums.  I am using the S.E.I Preservation Series Albums, 11 x 8.5 size.  I am painting the covers by roughing them up with an emery block so the acrylic paint will adhere.  Then I paint the cover with a prime acrylic color, such as gray.  I have painted 2 albums so far.  One is a beach scene and the edge is decorated with ribbon, the titles are done with my Cricut. I rounded the edges to create a "wave look" and used 8" x 8" pages.   The other album is of our Scrapbook Retreat last year and I used my Cricut letters, paint, and Cricut cut outs.  Then I painted 3 layers of Mod Podge to seal it.  These albums are for small projects, like vacations, events, etc.  

Painted beach scene 11 x 8.5

Painted, edges cut rounded, 8x8 inside

Paper Covered Album w/ Cricut Letters & Shapes, sealed w/ 3 coats of Mod Podge

This is our Scrapbook Group from last year's Retreat....A great group of gals!

Does anyone have any good ideas for showcasing your scrapbooks?  Not that I want to "force" anyone to look at them, but they should be located in our family rooms, not tucked away in our scrapbook rooms, right?  I have a bookcase in my family room and the bottom shelf is dedicated to scrapbooks.  I have a large ottoman with storage and as I fill up the bookshelf, I will store them in the ottoman.  I have a large cherry serving tray on the ottoman and always have a scrapbook or two on the tray!  Any more ideas, girls, where are your scrapbooks?

That's all for now.

Barb