An afternoon in someone else's garden

This was from an unknown time. We spent the afternoon in Ruben and Griselda's garden, it was lovely. I think it was only Cole, he must have been around 3.  They were living with Papa and Nana until their house was finished. It was so sweet for him to ask us to move in, but I don't think Papa and Nana and Mom and Dad agree.  

well it is Ruben and Griselda’s garden. It is very beautiful. We had a lovely afternoon just talking and watching as Cole blew bubbles, drew on the cement, and gave us a tour. We saw pill bugs, a snail, and various spiders. We talked about the Hulk, and just chatted. The highlight of the day was when Cole invited us to move into the house with them! Sweet, but…. um no. Not enough room, LOL

Speaking of grocery solutions...

Almost every time, they've been giving us extra bananas. Order 4, get 6 or 7. So this time we only ordered two, so if we got extras then it is what we want. BUT today, no extra bananas. Ordered 4 onions, because usually no matter what we order of those, we get only ONE. So today?? We got SIX of them. Hmm. How about onion bread? I just remembered Chandra's carmelized onions. Bet that's not low carb, right?

 

Hoarders/Collectors

I watched a hoarding show today. Reminders... 

        My name is Lindy. I am a HOARDER/COLLECTOR. 

Her house was a 3 story "mansion" and mine is a 1 story... well ordinary 3 bedroom house. She had so much stuff you couldn't get upstairs. It wasn't dirty, just a LOT of stuff. Mine isn't dirty either. I remember watching one that was a cat lady, and there were bodies in there. And then there was the man who was missing for 3 years before they found him... I do not have animal bodies, or cat feces all over, or a kitchen full of stinky sink. I never did have animal bodies, but in one house we had around 5 cats and when we were moving found... stuff in corners. It's not like that here, and I have pretty much trained myself to not leave the kitchen dirty. I remember back when I was single parenting 5 and the kitchen was not always good. So I am not as bad as all that. BUT.... I am a procrastinator, I am a very good procrastinator. I have plenty to prove it. Like that wall hanging. I started that in around 2007. I finished the front quickly but then it got hung up in the store, just the front, and when I quit the job it just got put into a box. The back is now done and ready for quilting. It should only take me an hour or so. But still. 13 years????? And then there's that one sock that never got a mate crocheted, I lost the pattern. 

ok REMINDER TWO. I am highly distractable, which shows in that last paragraph, I can easily just wander around and get a little of this done and a little of that but never get done what I started out to do. I remember having a distinct schedule once. I don't remember what that was though. Something like, Monday kitchen Tuesday bathrooms Wednesday bedrooms Thursday laundry Friday I don't remember if that was it, but something like that. When I had kids here, I also had HELPERS. I struggled then, but the kids helped me stay on task, and got involved in the whole process.It also helped to have a foster child, because we got surprise inspections, and that is indeed motivating. 

Reminder THREE. I am dealing with Mom and Dad's stuff, even Grandma and Grandpa's chests and tables, the Civil War dresser that was my mom's treasure, tables and such that my father built, the ceramics that he made, the little boxes collection of my mom's that I love, the sweaters and hats she knitted, stuff that was Loretta's, Grandma Butler's, Evelyn's... a table that was my aunt's?? I look at their stuff, and they are all departed... and I KNOW that I am not throwing THEM out.... some of it that was Loretta's I took because she asked me to, she said she didn't want it just donated. BUT WHAT THEN??? I remember my mom "feeling the power" when my dad died and I think that's true, there's also a LOT here that is Kerry's, that he doesn't care about but does not want to let go.... go karts, a motorcycle that hasn't been ridden in around 30 years, a car that doesn't run... I think if I were (God forbid) left alone, well, I would call his sons and we would feel the power. 

Reminder FOUR These people in these shows have a team of ten or more to deal with stuff. They just pick it up and go. They hire a dumpster and dump it. I can't stand to think of that. If you donate it, however, there's a good chance it's going to end up in a landfill somewhere anyway. I don't even have ME that is good at throwing things away. 

One day at a time. I will celebrate the clean sink and clean bathrooms. That is better than it used to be. It's funny, I don't admit this stuff to people and yet I put it out there on a blog that is public. Reminds me however of my grandpa, who wrote a column in a newspaper, had articles in a magazine, and nobody knew until later. I didn't have the pleasure of getting to know my grandpa directly, but I see his heart in his writings. It shocked me to think that I don't share stuff with my kids, will they know ME by my writing?? 

A big help has been allowing myself to create. I thought for years that I couldn't until "stuff was done" and then I never got to it. And so I get out my autoharp or uke or keyboard and let myself play, and every day try to get some kind of creating done, project worked on.... no matter if I got "stuff" done. Then I usually end up getting something done. 

Lately I've been fighting severe depression. It helped that Michelle Obama came out and said she has also been depressed. I think we all are. We're sacrificing and isolating so we aren't part of the pandemic problem... but there's this little part of me that says, what if we're wrong, what if this is all a game someone is playing... and then I hear another report of another outbreak, and see lots of groups like the RNC and rallies and NASCAR and all the protesters... and this is a very conservative town, so there's that. it's all crazymaking. 

I know I am not alone in all this, but I really don't talk to anyone about anything, and that in itself is crazymaking, even for an introvert. I don't reach out because I don't know what to say, and yet I can write and write. Not only here, but I have notebooks full of writing, thoughts, stories, poems, art journaling, painting.... A bit strange don't you think?

 

Grocery Surprise Solutions

A couple weeks ago we got some surprises with our groceries. Someone stuck an extra sack in our groceries, and one of the things was a quart of sour cream. It was the Expiration Date yesterday. I hadn't opened it, and it was fine, but needed to get used. Well the only thing that I use sour cream for is with potatoes, and we hardly ever have them since we TRY to eat more low carb... and I didn't have any, anyway. I looked up recipes that use sour cream and found one with chicken and sour cream. 10 ounces of sour cream, 3 eggs, salt and pepper, onion salt, garlic salt, Italian seasoning... mozzarella cheese. Cut up the raw chicken and put it in the casserole dish, mix the sour cream, a cup of mozzarella and the eggs, pour over the chicken. Sprinkle all the whatever seasonings on the top, put another cup of mozzarella on the top. Bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees. The recipe called for a sliced tomato on the top before the mozz but I didn't have any except 5 teensy cherry tomatoes from the garden, so I left it plain. I baked it in the morning while it was cool and we heated it up later. It was really good. Pretty firm, savory custard type thing. I am known for eating stuff cold and I sure did. I think it would be good with pizza ish toppings on it, too. Which reminds me there's some pepperoni in there that needs using... And it's low carb. We haven't been doing well with low carb and we've both gained back some weight. I have to lose it before I have to renew my driver's license, so I don't have to admit the gain. I have a couple years. HA!! 

Now I still have half a carton of sour cream to figure out, some kind of cookies maybe... or see if there's some more chicken in there and make more. I used up everything else except the baloney, which Jay picked up for his boys, since neither K or I like baloney. It was kind of fun getting stuff to try, like Jimmy Dean sausage, which we hadn't had before. That was really tasty and we think we might get it again. We also got turkey dogs, which we weren't too excited about, but we ate, and there was cottage cheese and a zucchini from a friend that ended up being lasagna. I think we used up everything. We got all that extra stuff free, because the store said they couldn't take it back. It was a little Something Different in the middle of this strange monotony of Social Distancing. I know we distance more than we need to, because we're a couple of old introverts with no imagination. I feel like this is really boring lately. So here's a picture of the Wacko Cat. I don't suppose it helps much.

Nothing crafty to report, I downloaded some stuff from Club Scrap to spark my imagination. I also cut out some stuff from some patterned paper to embellish some cards. And ordered a kit that makes 12 cards. Just for something different. I think there's only 5 more card fronts to finish not counting the gelli prints. Unless more shows up. And they might. There's a card file box that I haven't found yet, I don't know if there are card fronts or not in there. I watched several videos, so I want to get in there and do something. I looked at the wall hanging that needs quilting today, and got out the machine, so that might get done tomorrow. No promises. Trying to not be a zombie, but these days are a struggle. 

 

More finishing what I started

I've been fighting inertia and depression today. It's all I can do not to just go crawl in bed.... but I've been promising myself to get into some kind of routine, even if it means get up, make bed, get dressed, make sure kitchen and bathrooms are clean... most days I make it through the bathrooms but that kitchen is a stinker. I get stuff WASHED but then not put away. It's hard on the inertia days. And I don't remember if I made my bed, but I AM dressed. 

This one I stamped a long time ago with a piece of a shoe liner that looked interesting. I am never reluctant to stamp with oddments, shoes sometimes have interesting patterns, like flip flops, some are better than others. I've used flyswatters as stencils, and printed with leaves. I just get a kick out of the unusual, and patterns catch my attention. 

I think this is the first white on white on white card I ever did. But for some reason, I just had to leave it un-inked. I got that set of word dies, I really should give credit here but I have no idea. 

Another one of those ink swiped embossing folder ones. I could use more practice so there weren't such ink lines. But all in all I love it.

Same issue with this. I was trying to get the effect of a storm, but those lines.... I will definitely try again, and imperfect just means I am human, right? And getting the edge of the work surface in the picture... I'm not professional. I'm just me.

These four are to make a set for whoever. This is a fun embossing folder, I have used it a lot.

So now I should go finish what I started, get those dishes put away. It's way better than I used to be, at least, there's not dirty dishes in the sink. I didn't get very far with FlyLady, but I did get into THAT habit, making sure the dishes are washed before I go to bed. And make the bed when I get up. I don't know how many years it took me to get that far, but hey, I am also not allowed to kick myself when I'm not perfect, that's every day. 

I CAN have a clean kitchen. It does not look like this at the moment. But this was a few years ago, I refinished the floor, waxed the counters and doors and drawers, and put up a new blind (which the cat tore up since then) Just to remind me that I CAN DO THIS. Pulling away from depression is sure not easy. This blogging stuff helps. 😀 and yes there are butterflies in just about every room in my house. 

Happy birthday Mom...

today is my brother's birthday, I did send him a card, but I may try to call. My mom's birthday too. And my former pastor's wife. I sat and "talked" with my mom this morning, remembering the good stuff, forgiving the bad, being reminded of all the help she gave me with kids when we lived near them. I was blessed with great parents. A friend was talking about how he was abandoned by his mom when he was 7. He used to live in our neighborhood, and would come over and play ping pong, my mom loved it. So also reminded that I shared my mom with kids who needed a mom. So today I will try and honor her memory. 

 oh dear. Found another "unfinished" pile. I should be glad, I can make a BUNCH of cards, and give away some sets. Might, however, revise my "unfinished" rule. I really want to make some butterfly cards. I have such self control. HA.

I had high hopes for today, get up early, get dinner cooked, get a LOT done. But I couldn't go to sleep last night until 2 or so, and so I didn't even wake up until 10. This is all strange for a former earlybird. I don't WANT to go to sleep; but in the morning I don't want to wake up either. I quit caffeine, but am ready to go back to bedtime caffeine, I sleep better. Go figure. Oh yeah, ADD. 

Such strange days. SJ County COVID cases are down to 100 or so a day. So that's good. Last time we went out, LOTS of masks. There are still protesters that claim their rights are violated, but not so often. Lots of businesses are open, but people seem to be trying to be careful. It's hard to even think about what is going on all over, between politics, pandemic, hurricanes... so I'll just keep busy. It's not like I will ever run out of things to do around here, dealing with everybody's stuff (now who agreed to let it in the house in the first place??) and my own inertia. I am reminded again that everybody's online presence shows the best side and the good stuff and rarely the bad, with few exceptions. And I don't have many Face to Face relationships, even less now that we've been isolated for months. 

I used to have a separate blog for personal rambling stuff, but I have been consolidating, so there you go. 

Finishing what I started

I recently found a pile of card fronts I started and never got put together. It was fun doing a bunch of them so quickly. There is still a pile but here's a few. 

A simple embossing folder swiped with Tim Holtz distress inks.  There's a new color out there tempting me, a really vibrant orange. I do, however, have an orange, so it isn't that I really NEED it.

Another embossing folder. I think I did 20 or 30 of these that day, I had so much fun. I still have 3 or 4 that haven't been made into cards yet. 

A simple card colored with colored pencils. Coloring isn't my strength, I sure haven't practiced a lot, but I do enjoy doing it while watching my husband watch television.

Another card colored with pencils. Can you tell I love butterflies?? And I just bought some butterfly stamps. I better get going on these "to finish" cards because I promised to finish what I started before I start any more. Well at least finish SOME.  It depends on what I consider STARTED. I have dozens of gelli prints waiting to be made into something, I'm not counting those, unless I want to. "to finish" are the ones already cut to size. And that's MY rule, so I can do what I want. 

This last one is a plain embossing folder, and the embellishment is made from Sculpey rolled pretty thinly and stamped, and then I rubbed it with white paint. I still have 3 of them from when I did them, a fish and some other flowers. I love how this looks, just plain to showcase the flowers. I am thinking that I could also make some sculpey jewelry like this, by putting a hole at the top. I could even lightly adhere it to a card, with a chain already on it, since I found a bag of about 100 silver chains at the thrift store... maybe I'm getting inspired again, it's been a sad time lately, with very little creative spark happening. So finishing these is helping with a little sparking, maybe I should save up some sparking and do something new and leave them to spark me again later. 

No, Linda. There are plenty of sparky things. Embellishments, charms, embossing folders, patterned paper, gelli prints...... Get them done. 

Just Rambling

no new cards but I mailed 4 of them, and got one ready to mail tomorrow, but we're out of stamps.... so might drop it off where it's going since it's in town. 

.I should have taken a picture of "dinner" but I didn't think about it. I actually made a meal today.  Mongolian Beef, zucchini from the garden, rice, and artichokes. Kind of a strange meal, lots of veggies. It was PF Chiang's Mongolian Beef, we got it when we couldn't get any meat, and then didn't use it. It was pretty tasty, not as salty as I expected. Not much in the bag though, it was barely enough for two. Next time if any I will add more veggies. I might just find a similar recipe. 

Did nothing crafty today. I got a new cutter thing for my rotary cutter, so that's good. I also got thread and fabric from JoAnn's so I can finish my pillowcases, which were supposed to be finished awhile ago. Oh well. No kicking myself. Just move on. I found the flannel for the baby blanket for New Baby Coming Soon to my son.It hasn't been long since I made one, for Daughter's baby, so it should go quickly, I hope. I should write down all the hints since it wasn't a 10 minute project as promised.

There's a hurricane almost hitting land in the gulf. Everywhere there is always some danger, hurricanes, tornados, derecho storms in the midwest. The south has lots of humidity, the north has snow. 

California has earthquakes. So far not Big Ones in awhile. I don't really worry much. There's not an Earthquake Season to dread. It gets hot sometimes, like the 112 degrees last week. But not often. It's pretty mellow, and we don't generally get frost until mid November. So I think I'll stay here. The weather and grandchildren keep me here although I would like to be closer to my daughter and stepson. 

3 of my kids are celebrating 7th wedding anniversaries this year. 

Time just flies. Feeling OLD. 

What you think you can't handle.....

This is something I wrote a long time ago, and since I'm working on letting my other blog go, I'm copying a few to put here .... this was during the time I was trying to take care of Kerry's mom, and Grandpa was sick, and there were three weddings in one summer, we were trying to sell Kerry's mom's house, and my mom was freaking out because she had spent the last 70 years with my dad and was facing losing him, Loretta was not doing well, and I was trying to handle everything... it hit me again, because this pandemic stuff drives me crazy, and I want to see my kids, and I want to meet baby Joseph before he grows up, and I hate being alone so much even though I AM an introvert. It's crazymaking, as you know. Trying to see positives, well, some days that's impossible. 

What you think you can’t handle — might actually be God handing you a gift.

And I say, I don’t know what to do about this current gift, Lord…. and my mind goes back to 1987. One spring day a phone call sent my world spinning. My dear friends had lost a son, he drowned when his family’s car went into the canal. He was the same age as and a playmate of one of my sons (Joel), and it was devastating. His parents said they knew it was God’s hand, but I struggled with it. A few days later I watched in horror as my father ran over my dog as I screamed at the dog to get out of the way. Another day in the same week the cows came home with their noses covered in porcupine quills. I had just had major surgery, the kind that kept me in the hospital for a week and a half as I fought infection and pneumonia and then two more weeks spent at my mother in law's because I couldn't have little ones jumping on me. I had been away from home for a MONTH.  I had only been home a few weeks. 
The same week, still weak from that, I discovered that I was pregnant. I had been suspecting it, but a visit to the doctor and a pregnancy test confirmed it.
My  doctor had told me Do Not Get Pregnant again, your body is weak from babies and surgery. And here I was, pregnant with #5 and my surgery incision wasn’t even healed yet.
I cried for days. I didn’t want to believe it. I told God there was no way I could handle all this, four littles and a newborn– while recovering from surgery?
I didn’t see it right away. BUT…. I read a devotional from Ann Voskamp...

What you think you can’t handle — might actually be God handing you a gift.

And I think back on all the years of an amazing gift… my son James.

I am crying, and can hardly breathe, thinking, how I railed at God, asked Him what He was doing…. and he was giving me a GIFT. And God not only understood what I was saying, He was there, patiently knowing how much joy that little boy would give us.

And I am SO blessed; not only do I have five wonderful kids, but each of them has an amazing someone that loves them, and they all warm my heart. And along the way I gained two more (step)sons, and two more daughters in law…. and a bunch of  little precious grandsons.

 so remember...
What you think you can’t handle — might actually be God handing you a gift. 

I love you, James.... and am so thankful you are my son. I don't get to see you often enough, or even know you enough. I hope we get to see you soon.

Mom

Have Courage

I don't know where this little paragraph came from, but the internet says Henry Ward Beecher. I mean the cutout. I've been cleaning out stuff and there's this envelope with stuff that meant something to me at one time or other. I was reading this and thinking about how true it is, and also came across this little piece of paper with stenciling on it.  Then I remembered the "Have Courage" die from Catherine Pooler, and it all came together. So someone will get a card with this little paragraph in it, because it just seems like it all fits together. 

Two posts in one day. Little by little things are coming together. I think there's hope somewhere here.

Felt Applique Sewing Case

I made this a long time ago. I don't think I was blogging here at the moment, I was working for a quilt store, and we started selling felt, so I made this among other things for display. I didn't use felt from the store (!) but it was on display there for awhile along with a little scottie dog and a kitten in a mitten, which I gave away. They were fun to make. 

My mom and grandma each had a little felt roll similar to this. I think it was originally designed to be a mending kit. For me, it's a little case for when I'm embroidering or doing applique. It has needles, a needle threader, tiny scissors for snipping thread, and a tiny seam ripper that's good for boo boos. 

I googled "felt needle case" and there are so many wonderful ideas out there! It would be fun to make for someone who embroiders. I don't remember if I used a pattern, I think I did for the applique but don't know. I did this at least 10 years ago....

The felt I used is acrylic craft felt. I've made a lot of things out of felt and I still have a drawer full.  I always have big plans but they don't always happen. Long ago I decided that the planning is also valuable, and if I don't do EVERYTHING it's okay. Right now I'm trying to finish the ones I started, and I am well on my way.

 

Can a Squash Blossom be Encouraging??

Sometimes life feels normal, sometimes it doesn't. We picked up groceries this morning, we choose to go at 7 am when few people are there. We don't go in, we just pick up our order outside. It's a pretty good system, I wouldn't even mind keeping it up under normal circumstances, if it ever gets normal again.

The garden was encouraging today. The squash are blooming again after a few days of dry heat it was cooler yesterday and today. There is even one tiny green bean. That struck me funny. I planted NINE green bean plants, and only 3 came up, and only 1 survived bugs. So we may be able to have a bean or two for dinner some night. I'm going to plant again pretty soon, we don't have frost here until November or so, so we may get another crop in. 

I have to learn about how to prune these roses, I've just been chopping at them, and they bloom really well, but still. They were supposed to be a tiny mini rose plant. They have turned out to be about 6 feet tall, and definitely NOT miniature. 

This card front has been done a long time, but never mounted on to a card. It's a Michael Strong stamp, and a script background stamp with glittery embossing, on an ink blended background. Sometimes I like cards so well I want to keep them. This one is that. But it's getting sent off tomorrow, hope they like it.

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite. 

Positively Disorderly

I'm cleaning in my craft room, and yes there are a lot of exciting discoveries. Like scissors. I can't believe I have so many pairs. And a few embossing folders that I wondered where they were. Of course there are things I know I have that I can't seem to find anywhere. But there have been a few treasures in there, and I've made a few cards with the finds. All the envelopes are now in one place, the card sets are all in one container for easy access. Of course I really want to re arrange the room. But not yet, I need to get stuff put away first. Sometimes it feels like it's never ending. Persistence is the key, just do a little, rest, do a little more. I hate having the choice of hurting and thinking or not hurting and not thinking. Pain relief comes with brain fog for me. So I just have to deal with it until I can't and then have a day of zombieness. Oh well. At least it isn't quite as smoky here. Tomorrow there's supposed to be more thunder and lightning. I think they said we're up to around 600 fires. Enough already.

I carefully vacuumed the porch swing, and now it's covered in ashes. It's too hot out there anyway. But still. I wish things would just stay done. Well this post is even boring to me, so I think I'll get back to cleaning.   

 

birthdays and sadness and thankfulness and trusting

so are birthdays sad? Sometimes, because the one who is having a birthday is so very far away and I have not seen my brother in more than a year, and before that,  years, and before that, years. And my mother and brother share a birthday, so that's sad too, because I can't wish her happy birthday, only in my thoughts. 

However, I have a brother. Even if he's far away and we have to work hard to stay connected. And with this pandemic, it makes me feel alone, because I often AM alone. I go outside and there is so much smoke from the fires it's hard to breathe. My little garden is suffering, it's full of ashes, and the zucchini doesn't ripen properly. Feeling like a failure with that. But it's not my fault we're in a heat wave, and there are like 500 fires in California. It's a long time until frost here, probably November, and I will probably have a bumper crop around October. And more tomatoes than I know what to do with. The yellow pear is NOT a yellow pear, however, they are ripening red, but they're pear shaped.

I've been working hard in the craft room, which I'd like to turn into partly a bedroom, so I can move the bed out of the dining room. It seems so endless, like I can't seem to make progress, but I can get into the craft room, and have even been making cards. I cleaned out 4 drawers, so I AM making progress.

Today's cards are odds and ends, things I had started, or that my sister in law did. She died this year, so there's more sad, I miss her lots. And as usual all the sad comes to the surface and demands attention. All the friends and acquaintances who died this year. Which reminds me that I need to write to Dorothy, whose daughter died a couple months ago. The sadness of seeing the numbers rise from pandemic deaths. The sadness seeing the hate and division in our country. Seeing my kitty lying around and wondering if Now is when she's dying. She's about 15 with diabetes, and intestinal issues since she had surgery from eating a bunch of sewing thread. But this morning she was speeding like a kitten from one end of the house to the other, leaping over furniture and landing on a chair and then falling off and racing out to the garage. Who needs television when she's acting like that!

This (above) is a stencil, then home made ink spray with Catherine Pooler inks

Found this stamped on a piece of paper in a drawer. I remember, stamped with crayola markers on a stamp. That was all I had at the time. I don't even know if I have that stamp any more but it was one of my favorites.

In Real Life, the purples match better, and you can't see the wrinkles, I may iron it a bit. This cross stitch was done by my sister in law Loretta, so I may send it to her brother for Thanksgiving.

I made this card awhile ago but loved it and didn't want to let it go. But I'm sending it to my brother for his birthday next week... That house is dry embossed from a little plastic rubbing plate in a kid's play set and then lightly brushed with distress ink. Twine from the Dollar Tree! Once in awhile there's some really good stuff there. 

Little by little, piece by piece, it's either getting put away or going in the out pile. This is still painful, since it's Loretta's, my mom and dad's, my mother in law's... who have all died in the last few years. 

So, birthdays and sadness. Thanksgiving and trusting come a little harder some days. 

More Cardmaking and Thinking

Sad days, it just feels like endless waiting. And in addition to a pandemic and a heat wave, California is burning up. You know how during an eclipse you can look at the sun through smoked glass? Well it was like that. 

There was ash drifting down everywhere. I went outside to check on my little garden and the plants were covered with ash, the ground was covered with ash, the car too. I didn't stay out long because it was coming down like light snow and I didn't figure it was good to be breathing out there. 

So I've been trying to declutter, and get things out to donate, and I decided to do some card making to use up a little stash as well as reward myself for working hard to dig through the piles and be brave and Let Go of Stuff.

This one is done with resist paper from a pad that I impulsively bought last year and never used any of it. Turns out it's fun, and a quick and easy elegant card with the "blessed" word die from I don't remember where. 

Sometimes when I am card making it's for something specific, or sometimes the plan is to replenish someone else's stash of my hand made cards. It's fun to make cards for them, and they love to use them.

Sometimes I am just making cards to make cards and that's today. So I don't know where they're going yet. 

I've been inspired lately by Jennifer McGuire. She comes up with such wonderful cards.

These next two are a two in one thing. I cut a cover die, then used it as a stencil on one card, and then used the die cut on the other card. And yes, I'm on a "blessed" kick, because I have been feeling blessed. Some days are such sad days, like when I hear of another friend or acquaintance who has died, and sometimes I have to force myself to think of what I am thankful for. There's so much. I am so thankful for a roof over my head, air conditioning, and that we aren't in the path of the many wildfires our state is dealing with, just to start. I am thankful I have a bountiful crafting stash. I am thankful that I remember how to quilt even though I haven't for awhile. I am thankful for the technology that helps me keep connected with my daughter and her family even though she's far away. I am thankful this heat hasn't killed off the zucchini plants even though they wilt nearly every afternoon. I told someone today to write down their thankful stuff, I need to follow my own advice more often. 

Simple patterned paper and a flower I got many years ago from an overseas Yahoo group friend. I used most of what she gave me a long time ago but this was in a pile that I was sorting and it matched the striped paper scrap so there you are. It looks like a more masculine card, so I'm going to find a sentiment that says "happy birthday" and send it off to my brother this week for his birthday. 

My brother and I have had our ups and downs, and he lives far away and I rarely see him, but once in awhile we talk on the phone. Sometimes relationships are valuable but need a little extra work, so there you are.

I saw this technique first on a video by MayMay Made It. It is SO quick and easy, it's just swiped ink on an embossing folder image. I've gotten so I do a stack of these and keep them on hand for a quick card. This is one of my favorite folders, and Tim Holtz distress inks, the little cubes, seems to work best.

I miss being out in a meadow like this. Early this spring, I let one little corner of the yard grow into a "meadow" and lo and behold there were some edible friends growing there. So I enjoyed a little browsing in the garden snipping off some tasty morsels, and learned more about mallow, and how to make a throat tonic from it. So even though I am not living in the country any more, I can still have a bit of country here. There's still one plant out there I've been watering, I have no idea what it is, but it's fun to just wait and see. And there's a dove that greets me out there every morning with a little "good morning" song.

A long time ago I made a bunch of cards with the red "Just Because" that I printed on the computer and just cut it to this shape.and tore the top. I found this lonely one in a pile, and saw another scrap of patterned paper to pair it with. The flower sticker on the bottom matches much better in person, it looks purple, but it's really red. 

My craft supplies are getting more and more organized and it is so fun to just be able to go in there, and whip out a few cards with very little effort. 

So if my house doesn't burn down, I should be able to really get going on card making and other crafting again, I feel so much better when I make time to make things. There are a bunch of rocks I washed for painting, some have a base coat on them. A wall hanging just needs quilting. A quilt is all cut out and ready to piece. 

 And so I write and write, and nobody reads, but still I have this desire to document my life somehow. I know my Grandpa Linton was the same, I come by this naturally. I wonder how things would have gone with him if there was internet? Hmmm. 

Painting Play

Playing for a little while. Hard to see the color in a picture. This was totally an experiment, I am still learning how to use a gelli plate, and this was the first time I grabbed dark paper. I love gelli printing, because it's unpredictable, you never know how it will turn out, and if you don't like it, just put on another layer!! The birds are a thermofax screen from Terri Stegmiller.