grandmabear49

2011-05-22T23:40:00.000-06:00

Museum tour

2011-05-22T23:28:00.004-06:00

we went to the Holocaust museum here In El Paso. I will write some blog entries on it after I settle in DFW. all the books,stories I heard, films etc all gelled after this trip here.
This is a dining room of what a normal Jewish family house may had looked like on a Sabbath day. There is pic of a survivors mom here who died in a camp.

OPERATION:Get me out of the heat

2011-05-20T11:56:00.008-06:00

COUNTDOWN,6 days til our drive to DFW. It's an 11 hour drive.We're breaking it up into 2 days. We're spending the nite in Big Springs,about 1/2 way. I'm supposed to get out to walk @ 2hours prevent blood clots,
This is a MAJOR trip for me since i haven't done this w/ carrying my 0-2 this distance.We have never spent the nite away from the house.
This trip has had 3 mo's of preps for this move. I'm spending the summer @ my son's house to go into his central a/c.MY asthma & heart can't handle another El Paso summer.Our house gets baked w/ the heat in the a/noon so bad I have to camp out in my b/rm. I end up in there from 4pm to 2am. I can't handle another summer cooped up in my tiny room trying to breathe from my window a/c unit.
Gas is sky high that prevent us making monthly trips into the mtns to cool off. Those trips have saved my sanity by getting outdoors.Eating our picnic meals means more to me than a 5-course dinner in an expensive restaurant
Sat. is our dry run day to see what fits into our car.I have to take my 0-2 making machine,3 cylinders of 0-2 for to use in the car & my backpack 0-2 when out walking to go into the backseat. We ordered a roof bag,which supposed to hold as much as a truck. My w/c has to go into the truck fkat 1st,
We looked @ prices for pods,trailers & a small truck. I wanted to take my lift recliner w/ me since I can't get out of regular chairs. I was going to take a dresser since they didn't have one. It would cost from $900 to $1100!!!!
I found a new lift recliner for $600+ NEW!!! It's supposed to be delivered to F's house soon.
I'm also in the process of getting an Hoveround chair. It's a power chair that will replace my w/c. I got to ride on 1 Wed nite. I love it!! It really can turn in tight circles. I even did that in my tiny bdrm. Now I'm waiting on p/work @HA. F has carpet in his liv. rm.W/a power chair it will give me some of my Independence back I have lost w/ my PP muscle weakness etc.
Allen has to figure out how to get a boxful of journals,craft supplies,clothes, med's &some GF food in the car also.
I already have A VT assigned to me. It will be my pen pal Rebecca ,F's neighbor.she's been h/bound w/ her feet since Jan. she's an expert on family history, another scrap booker & card maker. This will give me a buddy,some needed company.
Allen will return back here. He has resumes out to find a job that pays better.
I have most of my craft rm packed up. Allen asked me to that.
I have all my 3 mo's of Dr's visits done. My cleaning @ the dentist was done this week. I go to the DC to get my bak adjusted today. New eye plugs for dry eye go in Tue. I have 3 dr's records. 2 of my dr's lost my signed medical release,I have to resign them.GRRR,these were my heart & lung reports which are crucial.
All of my med's for 3mo's have new scripts & in process of refilling some to take w/ me.
Next I have sew new velcro on my knee sleeve. If I have time put elastic onto 3 skirts to wear. My Thai friend gave me these as dress ,too small. I was able to take out the fabric. There is enough fabric to make new skirts for me. I had to throw away some of my clothes that were worn out.

68 S/BOOK PAGES DONE IN 3 WEEKS!!!!

2011-05-20T11:21:00.006-06:00

I got all of my pic's out of the photo book from my mission onto L/O's now. I started Easter w/end when DH was in Conn.I finished last week. I have them all matted & placed on PP. I will do more titles & tags this summer.
The big key was organizing my paper scraps in Jan. into sizes & color families. I was able to walk to scraps to mat most of my pic's w/o having to cut the mats out. Other mats were easy cut from scraps that were a little bigger. I saved a lot of money here since I didn't use new sheets of c/stock.
I chose what type of PP to use thru the book. This saved a lot of decisions & agonizing over L/O's.STICK TO THIS!!! It will help on speeding up the process.
I only used seasonal paper for holidays etc. I used floral PP for Butchart Garden tour in Canada.
I made some of my own PP using some of my stamps in my stash.This stopped me from trying to hunt the theme PP in a store or online.
I used a tip from Splitcoasters to mix different types of lettering on a title. It gave me a way to use my lettering in my stash. I also got some cool effects doing this.I also got out my stencils to make letters I didn't have. I filled in the outlines w/ Glaze pen,Stickles ,glitter or embossing powder.
I CAN'T BELIEVE I PULLED THIS OFF!!! I started this project 3 years ago. It got shove away for a year on a shelf.Vol I is done & packed to give to my son for a late gift.10 years ago I would had laughed @ s/one if they told me I would do s/thing like this. "Old dogs can learn new tricks",3 cheers for me.!!!!
Resources on the web have been my teacher since I'm housebound .Learning to think outside of the box is a big key. Using UR scraps & items in UR stash is another key. Oangizing UR supplies so U know where everything when the creative juices get going.

Summer at my son's house

2011-05-08T14:39:00.006-06:00

I'm going to Ft Worth for the summer.He has central a/c in his house. This has been in process for 2 mo's. My heart dr wants me out of here. It will buy me more time for my heart. My lung dr. said it help my lungs to get down to lower altitude.When it's a hot day, my heart puts me down flat.
I can't handle cooped up in my small bdrm trying to breathe in front of my small window a/c unit. I can't leave the bdrm from 4pm til about 2am.I have spent 5 summers this way. I can't deal w/ the fact of having another bad asthma attack & trying to breathe etc.I have colored digi's w/ my colored pencils. I look @ my card mag's & read books.
I'm leaving Thur. May 26th. It's a 11 hour trip. We're going to break in 1/2,& spend the nite @ Big Springs,Tx.I'm suppose dto get out & walk every 2 hrs tp prevent blood clots. I can't fly since I'm on 0-2.
I cranked out 50 pgs on my mission s/bk since Easter. I'm trying to get the rest of the pic's matted on 12x12 PP. I don't have a lot of room to take extra supplies in the car. I have to take my w/c in the truck.4 cylinders of 0-2 in back seat + the 0-2 making machine to use in the motel in the back seat also.
I'm taking all my ink pads ,markers, reinkers since the heat already hit 2 of my pads & glue sticks. I put the titles,tags & do more journaling this summer.
I finally get to meet my pen pal Rebbecca. She has been assigned as my visiting teacher My DIL made sure of that for me. We're all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints . It's so nice when U move U can fit into a new congregation & feel @ home.

Squeaky wheel gets oiled!!!

2011-05-08T14:17:00.005-06:00

After 2 weeks of phone calls to my dr's office I got tired of being put on hold!! I could spend 25 min's average on hold. Then I would be told the Dr. hadn't signed the paper. I went in Wed. for lab work & signed up to see the nurse practitioner. My BP had been high Tue nite & my stomach looked 3 mo's pregnant.I was patient no.1
She asked me how my power chair was. I said the Dr. hadn't signed my papers. she was really shocked they had sat around waiting for him to sign the.She said I get him to do this right away. They gave me more of a diuretic. It's the heat that does it to me on retaining fluids. I found out he went in to see a patient & not sign the paper . I told them I'm staying until he signs the paper & it gets faxed. I have to have that power chair.I'm going to my son's house & I need d that chair to get around. Istayed there until they faxed it &I got a copy.
I get home & eat some lunch. I call Hoveround on the fax paper work. The Atena form didn't get signed.The Dr. already left. Then he wasn't Thur.Finally on Friday the form got signed after 2 calls, 1 in am & the other@4pm.
Hoveround is supposed to do a demo. Wed. here @ the house for me to try the chair out
Now for Atena's look @ letter of medical necessity & get the final approval.Hopefully I have my chair in time @ Forest house May 28th.

More s/book pages

2011-04-24T15:59:00.010-06:00

It was like pulling teeth I finally got to work on more pgs Sat on my ABC . I bit the bullet & took some pain med. It seemed to help w/ my depression.
I got over the hurdle w/ what to do w/ my RMCP show pgs. I used a lot of my red PP.I'm glad I spent the time sorting paper out by sizes,time consuming, boring etc. It works when the creative juices are flying. I was able to walk to scraps of black & red paper to mount my pic's on. I even had some sheets of Corenation paper sanded down to mat some pic's on for a l/o
I got a good start on the last section "people". I got Kamloops,2nd time in Richmond,Victoria BC pic's mounted & some l/o's started. All i have to do is start l/o's of Butchart Gardens then I be done w/ B.C.
That leaves me w/ the rest of the pic's from Sitka & Anchorage AK.
I did make my own paper w/ stamps Thur. nite. i used my solid horse stamp for my RCMP pages. I made my own sheet w/ the horses on it w/ black on brown paper for a theme page. I have also used my Alaska stamps I bought 2 yrs ago used. I even found a snowman on the set. I had stamped 3 of them in a row & had embossed them in clear powder. I later realize that would make a good page w/ some snowflakes. I used 2 different shades of blue to w/ 2 sixes of the flakes to make a border.I stamped up some Eskimo stamps even thou I didn't meet any!!!
The dry heat & low humidity is drying out my ink pads even w/ rubber bands on!!!GRRR!!My glue sticks, Elmer's Craft glue one ended up hard as a rock!!There the good kind.

OOPs

2011-04-24T15:53:00.002-06:00

i found I didn't put comma's in my labels. Hmm it seems I hit the period button or don't put the comma's in so I get run on labels
My dry eye is affecting my vision really bad @ times. Also I get up early & i'm still sleepy so I make more errors.

I'm Blue w/o You!

2011-04-24T09:05:00.007-06:00

I had the blues real bad Sat. DH is gone to Conn. for 5 days to go to his Mom's surprise 8oth b-day party. My twins, g/kids were there along w/ Allen. I can't fly since I'm on 0-2. It took Allen 12 hrs to get there from El Paso to Conn.
I'm blessed I live in a good LDS ward here, El Paso 1st ward.Our compassionate service leader & her DH came Fri. am. Allen had gone to the store Thur. nite. & washed 2 loads of laundry before he left. He didn't have time to wash some dishes in the sink. W/ a w/c dishing washing is a wet job etc.
Sis. Flores brought me a big chicken salad for lunch & some fresh fruit etc. They cleaned up the dishes, clean 2 brms, mopped the kitchen hall & brm floors for us before they left.This will be a nice surprise for Allen when he gets home. He has to do these chores on top of working,running errands & taking me to Dr's appt.
It made me realize how quickly they could do those jobs vs how long it takes me now to do s/thing & how long I have to rest after ward
It also is making me realize how quickly my heart is taking me down in the last 6 mo's. I can't fool myself anymore, I really can't stay in this house if anything happened to Allen. I can no longer take care of myself w/ others to help me. this is a bitter pill to swallow since I used to be a very independent person. Even w/ my post-polio, I could figure some way to work around the problem. It might take me longer than a normal person, but I got it done
I wouldn't be here the last 5 yrs w/o Allen's help. He really is my lifeline. Like my son said I have spent 1/2 of my life w/ him. We have known each other for 33 trs.I can't turn on the TV,because it's s/thing we do together @ nite watching our favo shows together.
I have plenty of food in the frig. I just don't feel like eating or eating by myself.
Fluffy spent the a/noon sleeping on my chest in the recliner. If I got up she followed me around. I slept a lot Thur since I was really tired from Wed. I had to rake my laxative before Allen left since s/one has to be around if I have a fall etc. This really wipes me out. DH was up late packing his suitcase since he was waiting on clean clothes to dry.
Taco my chihuahua stayed out in the front yard all day. He wouldn't come in til night. It was like he was this "mean hombre" guarding the yard. Anyone walking by he would run & bark @ them. I was going to leave them out in the front yard for the nite. DH puts them out in the back yard @ nite to run around etc. I did that & they let me know real quick they weren't staying out @ ALL!!Boy once U rescue a dog U have a loyal & devoted companion for life. George came in & slept on his robe in my craft rm last nite when I was s/booking. He kept scratching on the door to come in.
I don't think I could get thru what I have to go thru w/o Allen being here. I don't think I could handle the stress w/ my heart if he suddenly died on me.I t would be like losing my best friend. I guess U just get used to the routine & the mannerisms of Ur partner
It made me realize just how much he really does for me each day.
plus the frustration of my Dr's office putting me on hold on the phone x 2 days & not refilling a pres. for me. Also it be 2 wks & no one knows where my paper work is for me to get my power chair. I spent 6 hrs there in the process of getting the paper work filled out. I'm trapped in the house & can't get to the Dr's office tio rattle some cages.

In style!!

2011-04-24T08:51:00.004-06:00

I was truly amazed when I was looking @ the latest Paper wishes Catalog Thur. nite. they had canvas, buttons & vintage items in a project together
I had bought my corner canvas piece a year ago in the clearance section @ Hobby Lobby. I had seen an a project in a multi-media mag. 2 yrs yrs ago? I had my g-ma's buttons in my sewing chest still on the paper. I had bought a block of Sculpty clay & stuck in a drawer.
It came together when Jan came to visited me & sculpted the dress maker form for me. It's the focal point on the canvas. I came up w/ canvas since it would be quicker than the original wood design, I had more buttons in form of a collage than the original project.
THIS IS SO WIERD!! 2nd time I have been ahead of a trend. The 1st was a 6 years ago. I took Katya's pic;s of playing the water from a s/booking format to putting them into a water mural on our living rm wall.
Vintage & sewing items are real hot trends now. I found they were in an old 2003 paer magazine. I missed them 1st time since I was starting out on cards.

YEA!! A Electric chair

2011-04-09T09:07:00.004-06:00

I just got a call from Hovercraft that Atena has approved a chair for me. They will pay 90% for me. I owe $420 for my share. I didn't think they would pay for this. The chair is $3500!! WOW a chair I can use in the house!!! It has a 23 in. wheel base, my doors are 26 in. It's known for turning tight circles. My old scooter is 25 years old & I can't drive it in the house.The tires are wearing out on my w/c.
This is cheaper than getting an used power chair.
This will make life so much easier for me w/ my heart & joint pain etc.

ABC scrapbook,1973-75

2011-04-09T08:38:00.010-06:00

After 3 years of starting on this I now am finishing up vol 1 of it to give to my son in May.I served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter=-Day Saints from 1073-75. I served voluntary w/o pay for 18 mo's. I qut my job as a nurse's aid, left college, told my friends & boyfriend good bye etc, We pay our own way.
O will post a few pic's on this entry & come back later to post more.
The first are reedited journal entries of me leaving Texas to get ready to go to SLC.,Utah. There is a pic of me in the yard in Burton,Tx before a final meeting w/ church leaders in Houston, Tx. My friends from UT @ Austin met us there.I then said goodbye to them. Most of them I never saw again
Entries of me entering the Mission Training Mission . I spent a very intense week of study there. I also attended the historic SLC temple while there.
I then departed for Vancouver, Canada.I met Pres. Weston Killpack our mission pres. I picked up my 1st companion. Sis. K had escaped from communist Poland & came to Canada
We pay our own way,give up TV,our friends,no dating,school jobs, to go teach people about the LDS church.

My 1st piece of art

2011-04-09T08:08:00.014-06:00

Allen hung up my Vintage button collage this week. I made it from buttons from my G-mom's Hovey button collection I have had for years. I got the idea from Paper Scissors multi media mag
i have had the buttons for years in my sewing chest. They were still mounted on the original cards.They have illustrations from the 50's on them. I also found 1 last tag w/ my g-mom's name on it.Also 2 crotchet circles in a corner.
Jan made the sculpt clay dress form for me. I painted it w/ mixture of native acrylic paints. I then sealed it w. Modge Podge, I used Corenation c/s stock on it. I distressed it w/ sand paper to get the color I wanted to match & contract the pieces it was by. I found some vintage dress forms that I cut out. I put Distress old paper on it to age it. I used vintage photo around the edges. I took some of the newer buttons on the canvas,
I put some buttons around theedge of the corner canvas from my button collection I never would use

SHOCKING!!

2011-04-04T12:18:00.004-06:00

I'm got out my mission s/book that I started 3 years ago. I actually worked on some of the journal tags this w/end. I have had it on my shelf for a while. I need to get this finished so I can give Forest Vol 1 of it. then I have over 100 pic's left to s/book left. I believed I have 34 pages s/bk so far.
I also have journal entries I edited & copied for him to read. This is about my mission I served in 1973-1975 in Alaska British Columbia Mission for the The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints
I also have started sewing on my Life story apron which the idea came from Paper, & Scissors multimedia mag. Allen went into Joann's for me to look thru the bolts of fabric for me. He helped me find 2 pieces of fabric for the top. 1 is is a black shadows on a rust covered b/ground of ranch activities.I took a montage of horse's heads & machine appliqued it
The long bottom is a piece of M.Engrebreit's fabric w/ sayings on it. I plan to make pockets on it for different roles I did in life,ex, mom,g/mom etc. I have saved some things from my kids & g-kids to put in the pockets. working on ideas when I was single. I found some rope like stuff to sew for the neck tie for the top."It'a boy" ribbon will be 1 of it's ties. 2nd tie unknown @ this time.
When done it will hang up in the liv. room

Vintage Button collage

2011-04-04T12:04:00.006-06:00

Jan made my dressmaker form from Sculpty clay for me.I have it painted & Modge Podge on my canvas.
I found the idea in the Paper,Scissors multimedia mag. a while back. I have had a cigar box of buttons from my G/mom Hovey sewing stash for a few years.I have buttons left on the paper backs from the 1950's This artist sells her works w/ these vintage buttons. I got the idea to do this. I also found eye & hooks & a made by label in the stash also.
I painted the canvas 1st w/ a light b/scotch color. I also found a vintage pic of dressmaker forms. I cut out the side view. I put Old Paper ink from T. Holtz on it to age it. I also put vintage photo ink on the edges of the pic.
Allen hung it up in the liv. rm this am for me. Now we can enjoy those vintage 50's button cards. It's fitting for this house since it was built in 1950's
I'll take a photo of it later.

Miss my fairies

2011-04-04T11:54:00.003-06:00

J& L bathe Fluffy Sun am when I was still sleeping & Allen was @ church. L always used to bath Lucky for us in R.H.Tx.They also washed up a sink load of dishes for Allen. I can't do those chores anymore. Allen wears a lot of hats here
Watched DVD pf Phantom of the Opera on DVD I have heard the music but not the whole story line. I loved how they brought in old vintage pic's in w/ the story line
All 3 of them played a long card game which I don't like. Laura won, after being behind. I dozed off in my recliner listening to their sounds @ the card table
I finally got my scratch board art Laura has promised me forever!!Does she do a good job on faces. Never do s/board, 1 wrong mark U ruined UR piece.

Early heat makes feel yucky!!

2011-04-04T11:43:00.003-06:00

This AM is proof a cooler day I can get things done in the kitchen. After a week Allen got fresh made buttermilk pancakes w/ turkey bacon for brft.I had made a b/milk pie for the girls for a treat for them to have. I don't usually cook non GF foods but these were a treat for Allen to have. I also made tapoica pudding w/ coconut milk for supper. Fresh s/berries will go w/ it.
I finally got the counter cleaned off w/ spice bottles refilled. Also melted some wax in a container to reuse to store my buttons in
The early heat makes me tired & I sleep a lot or just lay in the recliner. The dust storms kick up my asthma. I can't wear my sleep mask @ nites w/ a s/storm.

Problems w/ my template

2011-04-04T11:36:00.002-06:00

Jan looked @ my blog. We can't really find out why I have that annoying block show up She thought maybe a host is carrying a photo anymore. All I know it popped up 1 day after uploaded some pic's from my files.F,My son doesn't do blogs,he can't help
Until later I chose a darker b/ground & a template @ Jan's idea.
GRRRR! I DON'T LIKE THIS!!! I'm a card maker not a geek!!!

1

My girls came!!

2011-04-04T10:50:00.005-06:00

They came & are gone!!Only 3 days. Fri. we hanged out @ the house.Worked on some projects in the room. Jan made my sculpty clay small dressmaker form for me for the button collage I wanted to make.Had fresh tamales & empanada's for supper. Watched "Little Rascal's @ nite.
Mesilla,N.M. Sat @ noon left.This is a historical SW adobe historical town square. My 3 rd time there. I luv the ambiance.The bldgs have twig & stick roofs U can see. They are pretty thick walls.I had to show Laura & Jan this piece of SW history. Billy the Kid was tried in the courthouse, which is a store now.Douglas MacArthur been here. Pancho Villa probably threaten the local cit zens. He was know to go back & forth to El Paso & Mexico.
Jan took us out to dinner @ La Posta,an ancient Mexican restaurant that goes back to the 1930's. It was a bldg that goes back to the stage couch days. It had a big cage of birds in it. I saw a Toucan up close for the 1st time. can those birds screech loud!! Some tanks of flesh eating fish. I always thought they were small. These were pretty big fish from California.
My favo. place is the bookstore that is family owned. They have 4 dogs that greet U @ the door. They carry a lot of books on the west. I have looked @ books on Navajo sign talkers from WWII. w/ their pic's & a brief story .I have seen pic's of early El Paso before cars .I read book on early Jewish Settlers from Germany. They were the 1st bankers , merchants & cattleman in N.M. I loved seeing the early pic's of them dressed up. I would hate to iron those detailed bodices much less try to sew them. also pic's of silver pieces & other items brought w/ them from Germany that they used.
Digging in a stash of books in another small room, I found the book "Seven Crosses" a real story of an escape from a German Concentration camp.I wanted this book for my Holocaust to be saved for my g/kids to read some day, I usually don't pay $17 for a p/back book. This book is probably not @ Barnes & Noble.It's kinda creepy, but this really happened. We need to remember this really happened to people.
I have bought Jap. Kimono's paper dolls for Jan for C-mas from Dover. I also got Emma a horse story & K a Hobbit book. I bought a nice sticker book for the kids for C-mas also there.
I wish I had more money to buy more books. This is 1 b/store I love spending time there. The owners are so nice & knowledgeable about their books.I wish I could hang out their more.
I luv the drive out there. We go by several horse farms @ the 1st of the drive. I wish I could ride h/back again. Just to feel the wind blowing on UR face as U run w/ the horse. We go under a big arch of pecan trees bending over the road before we get to the Pecan farm. coming home The sun was setting in the sky w/ it's orange shades coming thru the sky.I luv my open spaces, room to breathe etc. I never liked be crowed in tight quarter's in Bpt.,Conn
We saw a big buffalo in a lot right before we crossed the river into Texas.

Still alive

2011-04-04T10:38:00.005-06:00

We have had the warmest March since 1887. Broke a record Sat. of 92 F. New record of no rain this year. No poppies on the mtn. this year,no rain ,no poppies .Miss the brilliant orange on the desert mtns. The only spring flowers we get in the desert.
Looks like we're in for VERY HOT summer & a drought. Little s/pack in Colorado & upper N.M. Means little irrigation water for the pecans & cotton in N.M. close to us. Hatch chillies will cost more
The early heat is making me feel yucky!! It's making my heart & asthma kick up. The sand storms have plenty of sand to blow around. It puts me down in my recliner, sleep a lot & no energy. difficult to sleep w/ my sleep mask @ nite. I lost last week,3 appts & tired from girls visit. Didn't work in my room last week.
Heat coming too early for me.

K's scrapbook cover

2011-03-12T16:37:00.005-07:00

It's only been 6 wks since K's 9th b-day. I finally got her cover made for it. I took my water mural down. I gave K the pic's for her . I had pic's of her playing in the water since she was 18 mo's old to 4 years old. I also put pi's she colored & mailed to me.I couldn't throw them away& had saved them
I got the fabric from a swap w/ my Swap -Bot buddy. I luv the kids playingon it.

Outlaw's CAS card

2011-03-12T16:30:00.004-07:00

I'm posting this 1 for this Sunday's challenge. I took 3rd place in the western challenge. the card w/ the saddle is here on my blog.
I made a set of these cards for my Relief Society Visting mail route for the LDS church

An update

2011-03-10T11:15:00.005-07:00

I'm glad I followed the impression to work w/ my son last summer on my family lines. It was correct, that we wouldn't get the time to do this again.
My health had gone down hill w/ my heart. My pumping capacity has dropped down to 40%.I get tired out much more easily on exertion I have also lost lung capacity which affects how long I can talk w/o getting tired.
I'm @ peace knowing that another generation has all the correct facts.
Also when my son & his wife came for a family visit T-giving 2009 I gave him 2 thick binders from my parent's line's of prints outs from LDS Family History lib ray in Utah.It was full of family generation sheets
He would later find these valuable in his search for info. He found out online a lot of info was missing & we had it.

He kept His promise.

2011-03-10T10:11:00.008-07:00

Last June my son got laid off from his job in Dallas. He's a contractor for Dallas managing the city's library computer's data bases, repairs etc. He didn't have the seniority etc for a cut back.
He doesn't get paid holiday's etc. They had planned financially for emergencies. Coming home that day he felt impressed that if he worked on his family history & went to the Dallas LDS temple he would be watched over financially.(we're members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) He told me of this & said he give me a call on ?'s for me to answer.
Shortly after wards I got an impression that I was to work w/ Forest on this that we wouldn't get the time otherwise in the future. He called me the 1st week asking me ?'s on my family history that he needed details on. We decided I would make time to go thru my file cabinets that hold family records, birth, deaths etc .
This is where a "Small miracle" came into play.We live in a 1950's old house in El Paso that has no central a/c. This was in July. Usually I can't be in the middle room since it's too HOT to be in there in the middle of the day.Also my asthma is so bad in the summer s/times I can't talk on the phone.
I have a "Harris" line from Maine that we only had a few generations on.2 Harris married each other. 1 is from Pembroke,Maine, 2nd came from Nova Scotia,Canada.
We spent 2 days next week w/ me wearing my headset going thru each file giving him info off the birth certificates to compare to the new Family Search the LDS Church has available.I have a lot of divorces etc, so we had to double check we didn't miss children by what spouses, divorce dates etc.I was reading thru letters that had been written to me to look for additional info. to put into family info. etc.
I was reading thru 1 of my mother's letters. Her h/writing is small & can be hard to decipher. There it was a letter with info her g/father Harris we didn't have.Forest took that info. & found his parents were in Mass. He was tracing the wrong "Frank Harris"!!!!
Later after many days of doing searches online on the Harris line,he found s/one w/ similar info. He e-mailed him. He found out we were related. His info. took us way into the 1500's.
Now my son has my line's family history w/ fact's as correct as I can get them.
Later in August we would have 2 1/1 weeks of 100+ heat waves. We would hit 110F. We had 2 cool weeks of weather in July which is unheard here. I was able to talk on the phone for hours to him which I normally can't do esp. w/ my asthma.
He spent hours on the computer doing data searches for family info. He received an impression that the work he was doing would affect generations of time both in the past & into the future for him.
That as bad as he wanted children,there were parents who had waited longer to have their children sealed to them. He had spent time going thru census etc & found children that we weren't aware of they had have,Wrong dates, birth dates, death dates etc were all jumbled up that didn't make sense,he was able to find correct dates.
He & his wife were able to take a lot of names to the LDS temple to be sealed. Enough names for baptism for an Youth trip for our Mutual youth to do baptisms @ the temple.
He later got his job back.His contracting co, actually called in Sept. & begged him to come back. They gave him a raise!!! The library director begged them to bring him BACK!! He can do the work of 2 people. The guy that took his place gave up,he said it was too much work & couldn't keep up ,needed more people. My son had been doing it before by himself w/ no problem!!He had a big mess when he came back to work, the guy had been doing a poor job. So many people were excited when he came back to work.They commented now things will get done.

Katya's scrapbook gift

2011-03-10T09:45:00.009-07:00

her book also has early pic's she made for me that i saved from her recieved in the mail
I only 6 weeks behind on finishing up her gift. I took my water mural down from my living room wall.K is is the main star on it. She loved the water as a toddler.The pic's were too cute to keep in a book. I came up w/ the idea to put them on the wall in s/book form 6 years ago. Now that is a hot item to do. Now they will go to her.
I had to clear off my table of card projects to make room for my sewing machine.
i see why i don't sew anymore. It's more demanding brain wise to concentrate. U have to be very precise sewing vs c/making.
I got the fabric of blue Toile like fabric of kids playing from Glenda,my NH pen pal for a swap. It took me longer than planned. should have made a paper bag pattern 1st but didn't
Also patched up my dress that super glue broke the fabric o. Don't spill a bottle of Super Glue on UR clothes. I tried getting it off w/alcohol. Washing it turned it hard. The fabric later became brittle & broke up. Now it's getting hot & I'm short on clothes so I had to fix it.
My Swap-bot buddy June Moon gave me the fabric to patch it. She sent me enough to make new Chef's apron that rotted out.

Major Dust storm

2011-03-05T06:28:00.006-07:00

It took me 3 days to clean up my house from the really bad dust storm that packed about 5o mph winds blowing sand & dust every where. Yes, springtime is here in W. Texas w/ our yearly "eat dust"I didn't clean the floors earlier because the storm just leave more dust.
I didn't get to til Wed. I cleaned all the blinds which were just coated w/ layers of dust.The windows are just like sieves in this 50"s house. I used my Swifter stick to wipe them down to make it easier on my shoulders & arms. Thur. was a cloudy day which flares up my FM. Until I cleaned up my bdrm. I couldn't turn on the fan in there.It's already getting hot in here.Too hot in bdrm I can't wear my sleep apnea mask. Sand storms kicking up my asthma. I cleaned up the bdrm & my craft rm w/ the Swifters. I had to stop & rest since I had a 4PM Dr's appt.
I had to get dressed @ 3pm,since Allen is to be here@ 3:45Pm. It's all I can do to drag myself out the door. I get there. I'm waiting a few min's @ the desk.Then I told my appt is @ 2pm not 4PM. I tell them my appt card said 4PM. Allen backs me up
They try to find out what happened etc. Too make it worse the Dr. had just left. I'm so wiped out I come home & crash in my recliner exhausted. A wild goose chase!!I'm having more problems w/ my heart w/ a lower pumping capacity,the sand storms are bothering my asthma,+ I've some diminished lung capacity + add it's warmer than normal. 80F is making my fatigue upon exertion more pronounced. I have to reschedule another trip out.
So after sleeping over 12 hours Thur. nite into Fri. @ noon I manage to get up.
Taco was neutered this week. so 1st business is to get all my bracing & shoes on so I can take him outside on a leash to see if he go to the brm.For 10 days he has to wear his hood, not run etc. (he's an active Chihuahua)So I don't get his leash tangled up w/ my 0-2 line on my portable tank,I have been taking him out w/ out my 0-2 on.
So after taking my Allegra,allergy shot, Nasonex & face mask on, I'm ready to tackle the pile of dust in our Liv. rm.1st I take a clean yellow dust dust cloth to our TV
shelves. I've to take off the DVD's off. It just covered w/ a layer of heavy dust since it's right in front of the front door & a big window.The dust collects on the 1 whole side of a new cloth. Then I clean up our computer 2 tables which U can write UR fingers in the dust. These areas take 20+ min's to wipe down & move items around to clean up.
Next step is using the Swifters on a long stick to clean up the floor. Since I'm in a w/c this is the best way for me to clean the dust off the floor of dust & dog hair. I pull 2 plastic boxes of old video's out from the Futon. There is a big pile of sand,not just dust. I go thru 2 Swifters in cleaning up under the futon & dusting of the tops of these boxes.Cleaning off our air cleaner surfaces& in front of the door uses up another one. It takes 6+ Swifters to finally get of the dust etc off the floors,under the computers desks, behind my recliner & by the b/cases. I use the 7th one to finish up sweeping the kitchen floor again.
Allen will sweep up my pile of sand etc.when he gets home. Now we can turn on the fan in the liv. rm to cool us down.
This wipes me out for the rest of the a/noon. Allen helps me fix tacos' when he get's home from work.
Another wind storm is due in M& T. Temps dropped down last nite. This yo-yo weather is playing havoc on my FM. I'm having muscle spasms, joint pain etc as the weather changes. My body is not handling well these swings.

Ropes & halters

2011-02-24T22:11:00.002-07:00

An event that happened while rounding up my father's stud on the Hurlbut Ranch in Dripping springs Tx in the 1960's as a teen.

In saddle

2011-02-24T22:07:00.002-07:00

This is pic of me as young girl on my father's stud,Napoleon. I scrapbooked this as a series of pic'sas a story on the ranch life.

2011-02-24T22:04:00.001-07:00

My 1st scrapbook entry on the Outlaw site for a Western challenge

Postal grid stamp card set

2011-02-16T16:50:00.006-07:00

I'm working on a big set of card using used postage stamps I've collected from favo's from US & foreign stamps from my Swap-bot buddies. I'm coloring them w/my new water color crayons. I luv how they color. I can color like when I was a kid. the colors are as vivid as the Crayola crayons we had as a kid in the 50's. The red is vivid like when we had as a kid. I can get a nice water color wash w/them. I can get a better effect than w/ my color pencils. I can't do water colors,they are too expensive to get a good product.I luv how easily they blend. I only have a 10 color set but I'm able to get the colors I want by blending.I use very little water on the paper. I wipe off my brush on a scrap paper 1st.I got the media cardstock set from Dick Blick @ C-mas time for 1/2 price.
I plan to use these for my card stash. I can quickly make them up into b-day card etc.I've been working on them during our BRR!! cold front to save my sanity. I do luv to color ,it destresses me out.

Russ's mulberry paper scraps

2011-02-16T16:04:00.022-07:00

These cards were made w/ my friend Russ from NYC. The mulberry scraps were so pretty I kept the cards,clean & simple. I also made cards from dii's in my stash,peache ones were from an old tissue box. I luv the design & kept it. Others were from c/board pieces in my stash etc

Rolling blackouts in El Paso,Tx

2011-02-06T15:41:00.007-07:00

We had 3 days of these. Our generators instruments were frozen & they couldn't generate power. So we had rolling b/outs. We must had been in the non critical grid of 17 areas. 35 grids.Frozen water pipes. We did have a share in a nuclear plant in AZ which we could buy power from.
I was prepared. Luckily I have a 2 big tanks of 0-2 I can fill up my portable tank with. When the power goes off an alarm sounds. My recliner doesn't move when it hits. so I made sure I had a flashlight, matches & my liquid paraffin candle handy . We have a gas stove,had to light the burner 1st. I learned to cook my supper during the daytime or to cook it be before the b/outs were scheduled to start.
I wore my Damart thermal long johns I got in Conn. They are nice & warm.I haven't worn them since Utah. Kept my double lined wool socks on my feet. My feet get cold & they stay cold.I layered myself. The dogs & I slept in the recliner w/ my warm lap quilt I had made.
We put an extra wool blanket that was my g/mom's. U can beat wool for warmth. I insisted w/ Allen when we moved from Utah to Texas to keep our warm clothing etc. Ice storms in North Texas can snap power lines & be w/o power for days.
50 power plants in Texas got hit. We're not equipped for such cold weather.A big cold Arctic front pushed all the way into North Mexico.some animals,snakes etc died in a Mexican zoo when the power faile
The day we had $f here,Anchorage AK was 18F. WOW zero F was warm there in the winter!!

3F in El Paso,Texas!!!

2011-02-06T15:32:00.003-07:00

Broke a record set in 1956. 2 nites of 4F before that,record broke from 1962. Was in Ft Stockton,west Tx in 7th grade. Don't remember that,just the blowing sand in our faces @ lunch time.
Our houses aren't build for this kind of cold. Wind caused a lot of chill factors. My craft rm temp. got down to 47F Wed. when the storm came in.The wind just blew thru the glass. The walls were cold to touch. House built in early 50's,no insulation.
Luckily our pipes are all on the inside of the house. So we had no frozen pipes. @ of our chapels had frozen pipes.
Hondo Pass was supposed to have a Stake broadcast Sun. am. It had major flooding so moved back to the Stake center. Our had some minor flooding.Albertsons was closed Fri. nit from part of it's roof collapsed from a frozen pipe in the ceiling broke.

water restrictions

2011-02-06T15:23:00.004-07:00

Now it's our water supply that's having problems related to the cold. It now has been extended to Mon. No school for the 4th day. they had to reduce power usage from the 3 days of blackouts. Reservoirs are too low No showers,laundry,etc.We're to boil water.
Do have water to drink,water by toilets, outside H2o may be frozen. Will use paper plates etc.Baby wipes for hands & face. No shower for me today.
So far so good. Mac Simpson from coon Relief society of the LDS church taught us to be prepared.Need to update my 72 hr kit meds& put GF food in it.

Laura's wierd card set

2011-01-31T16:13:00.010-07:00

These are ATC's I got in a swap. I made them into a card set for my DD's late C-mas gift. I used my new watercolor crayons on them for my b/ground. I luv how easy they color onto the media c/stock. Then I put a small amount of water on them w/ a small paint brush to blend the colors. I luv the vibrant colors I got. a little goes a long ways. I took care to paint from the inside out so I didn't get a muddy look. I had a scrap of paper on the edges to brush off on when doing the border.
I cut open a bottle of Stickles to get dwon to the last of it & put it on the black witch card for a sparkly effect.

Altered box

2011-01-31T16:08:00.003-07:00

I took a candy box & used beach paper & a SU set of stickers of kids @ beach playing. I Modge Podged it on so the box would wear w/ use. The sides have blue wavelike paer on it.
It holds a set of flat seashells in it.
A pic. of her @ the beach playing w/ a sand castle inspired this project.

Emma's shell gift

2011-01-31T16:00:00.004-07:00

I Modge Podge mulberry paper that had leaves & coconut fiber in it on the can.My friend Russ gave me these scraps & it sure fit my beach theme. It really gave the can a textured feel.the can holds small seashell collection.

2 corner tables

2011-01-31T15:43:00.003-07:00

I remembered these were stuck in the corner in the storage room. I had DH unplug the dehumidifier & push it under my card table. He took a big box out of the room. Now I can open the drawer up & store less used items in this big drawer.W/ the tables I have access to them underneath to store my paper scraps,12x12 box of paper,my 8x10 card stock. The 1 table next to me is my project table. It gives me extra room to put items on while I'm working on my card table.
I've 2 portfolio's w/ filed card stock scraps by colors under the 1st table. 2nd table has card stock & my 12x12 box of patterned paper under it

1st set of drawers

2011-01-31T15:32:00.005-07:00

I had to clean up the 1st of drawers since I did the other set. I moved my Distress inks to a separate drawer. My 1st drawer of inks was to crowed to close the drawer. I also pulled out a tin of foam stamps. They are now on my shelf since I don't use them that often. I have my acrylic blocks & Tack & Peel in that drawer.I pulled out some 1/2 empty pen plastic boxes that were jamming my drawers.I now have my watercolor crayons in that drawer also. I just found my lost new woodless color pencils in there now.I moved some of my C-mas items out of the drawer into a C-mas portfolio pocket.I now have a big misc. drawer.

Tipped Drawers

2011-01-31T15:22:00.002-07:00

This set was tipping to the side. DH took the wheels off the bottom set & put it on the top. Put the wheels on the top one & then it was the bottom. That messed up my order of the drawers. I had them as I use the most on the top & the least on the bottom. It meant I rearrange every drawer. It meant my big drawers were in the middle now.So I sorted thru e/thing. It made clean up my drawers. I put labels on them so I knew exactly what was in them. Now I can't just throw stuff in the drawer.I also pulled some stuff out of drawers & stored in an other area so it would get used more.

Magazine holders

2011-01-31T15:14:00.003-07:00

DH gave me 6 of these for me for C-mas.My friend Russ from NYC sent me 2 Priority boxes of card making mag's to me. some of them will go to Relief Society activities to be used for classes. I have a full holder of Rubber Stamper he gave me.I really luv this mag's & I finally getting up to speed on their advanced tech's.
Since I have gone thru a lot of our family photo books for s/booking for the kids I have room on top of my file cabinet now.
When Jan comes she will be taking baby photo's of them as twins. That will get down 2 albums+ she'll take the vacation photo albums

pictures of my craft room

2011-01-31T15:06:00.004-07:00

Shelf DH put up T-giving w/end as a surprise for me. He wanted my piles of boxes etc. off the floor.Now I have 2 boxes off the shelf that had PP & c/stock scraps in it to sort thru. It took 6 days to do that.

MAJOR CRAFT ROOM REORGANIZATION

2011-01-24T15:14:00.004-07:00

It took me 3 weeks to do it ,it's done.DH asked me @ C-mas time to clean up my piles. Oh do my ribs & back hurt. I even cleaned up the liv. rm.It went out the door or got packed away.
I'll post pic's & details of it later. I have 2 boxes of mag's up on the file cabinet. I sorted thru 2 boxes of patterned paper & card stock now all filed away. My floor is so clean!!! Stuff had grown from my corner to the middle of the room.
I finished Laura's set of wierd cards for her C-mas present. I finished Emma's present of Modge POdge containers for a shell collection
Pictures are on my flickR tab on the right until I get back her. I hurt too much to type much.

Big & Juicy pad

2010-12-20T06:50:00.005-07:00

I luv how quickly these brayer onto my card stock. They are so hard to find
even on the web. It wide enough I used 2 brayers so I wouldn't mess up my ink colors.I needed a quick sky for my cards. Originally I was going to watercolor w/ my w/color I lost Oct. & I lost time to experiment w/ the w/color pencils for a wash b/ground for the sky.
U can see how I did the trees for my collage.

Mark's card

2010-12-20T06:40:00.004-07:00

This idea got tabled in Oct. because of health problems. I only made 4 of these.
i used a brayed ink w/ Big & Juicy ink pad to make my sky b/ground. I cut out the trees from some stamped images. I put the big one in the front & the group of trees in the b/ground. I cut out the moose stamp. I popped it up w/ a 3-d foam dot. I added the wood pieces as an accent
I put Peace on Earth on tags as a greeting.

Mark's card

2010-12-20T06:33:00.005-07:00

Jan is a Hello Kitty fan. My 1st easel card. It took me 2 years to finally do this card. I had to print out the directions for it & follow it step by step. after I saw it, then i could visualize it.
I dyed the dew drops w/ alcohol ink to use as a stop for the card to keep it opened.

Toby'schipboard book

2010-12-20T06:27:00.003-07:00

This is a pic of the whole book I made for his present.The whole project is on my flickR tag w/ more pic's & descriptions of the project. It took 6 days to complete

Judy's card

2010-12-20T06:22:00.001-07:00

I used a M.Engrbeit piece for this card

inside

2010-12-20T06:19:00.000-07:00

Katya's card

2010-12-20T06:15:00.001-07:00

She loved to dance to the N/cracker ballet as a young child when she visted us in DFW area

Emma's card

2010-12-20T06:12:00.001-07:00

I luv the naughty & nice ribbon in my stash

2010-12-19T20:49:00.001-07:00

Forest's card inspired by his love of the Nutcracker. Dustin Pike digi

2010-12-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

Allen's card,inspired by Polar Express

2010-12-19T20:39:00.001-07:00

This was supposed to be my theme card for this year.I lost Oct. to health problems. I only made 2 of these cards

I can breathe!!!

2010-12-16T16:48:00.004-07:00

Phew!!! I made it. Last 2 cards under book press. G/kids box in mail. Can't believe I did it w/ no heart problems. It has taken from the Dec.1st,to make 12 custom cards.
Now Fri. to start cleaning the house in small steps & put up the small tree. Will put C-mas card stuff away. Next week will be some "me time" Been making cards since Sept. 100 went out then. 40 in stash,47 made for C-mas went to Kuwait.
Haven't read a book since Aug. I'm going to "gel out" C-mas w/end. My Thai friend taking us to C-mas dinner @ the Oriental buffet. Luv to spend time w/her. Most loyal friend in El Paso 1 less meal to cook. DH is going to help w/ meals the days he's off so I have energy to work on other items.
Need to spend time filing away 2 boxes of paper scraps been in my room 2 mo's. Pull out my Vintage p/c collection to send out. Send out 40 cards to a GI's wife whose DH is in Iraq. Watch Rose Bowl Parade,read a book & watch video NY eve w/end.

No more C-mas cards!!!

2010-12-12T08:16:00.005-07:00

I'm getting sick of making C-mas cards. I'm still plugging away on my custom made family cards. My idea was to make e/one a custom card since I don't have time to make a present. I hope I don't regret this & it just get thrown in a corner. I have spent alto of time on these.
I have used red line tape w/ glitter
2,my first easel card which has taken me 2 years to do. I have a spatial relationship problem. I had to print out the directions for the measurements. after I made it I understood the concept better. I made an improvised one for Emma since i glue the pic on the wrong side of the card.
3,gateway fold for Katya's card
4 pamphlet fold
5.distressing & tearing uneven edges
6 brayer w/ Big & Juicy pad for a sky
7.watercolor wash w/ color pencil for l/house stamp
8 learned how to mask image w/ the masking tape
I can't post the pic's here since they haven't been mailed yet. My cards can be found on Papercrafterplanet
for those not in my family.
Toby's book taking more time than expected. I didn't want to pay $5? etc for a c/board book plus s&h. they are hard to find in El Paso. DH cut out 8 4x4 pieces for me to use from a cereal box. I had to cover both sides of the pieces.They have been under the book press x3 to dry. I still have to write on the titles, color in the letters on the cover,Mod Podge it so the paper looks neater, & then tape it together. A lot of drying time on this projects. It has images of trucks & trains on it.
I still have 3 more family members cards to work on this week.

p/c pic's on front door

2010-12-12T08:10:00.002-07:00

I can only get this one to show up rotated. the others of the front door can be round on theright on my Flickr tab.

2010-12-12T08:08:00.000-07:00

2010-12-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

closeup of leave tree

2010-12-12T08:05:00.001-07:00

i have pic's of the whole tree on the right on my FlickR tab. I can't figure out how to rotate them from my file

Postcard on front door

2010-12-12T06:39:00.004-07:00

These are p/c's from all over the world. I even have a column of Oriental cards from the East on the far right. a lot of N.Z. cards from my pen pal in Christchurch. I have Hawaii & Alaska. Waitng on Florida to finish up my door.My bulletin board has a lot of European cards on it. I having been doing p/c swaps on Swap-bot since May.

2010-11-29T12:07:00.000-07:00

2010-11-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

2010-11-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

2010-11-29T12:02:00.001-07:00

2010-11-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

2010-11-29T12:00:00.000-07:00

My favorite of my cards

2010-11-29T11:50:00.003-07:00

These are some I like how they turned out . I found an old ad from the 50's from Purina dog food. I cut the ad off & used the boy asleep /w his pup. It reminded me of what he was dreaming for gifts on C-mas morn.
I also used alot of Vintage free images. My color priner was running out of ink. I used My Ranger distress inks,the OLd paper, Vintage photo,Denim blue & Tatterd rose on them. It made them look like they were supposed to be that way. I used up my color ink jet that way & didn't get wasted

C-mas cards for GI's 2010

2010-11-29T11:37:00.004-07:00

I have a sample of the 53 cards I made to go to Kuwait up on FlickR,Paper Crafter Planet & Facebook for people to look @ I did collage this year. Thanks to those who share their free digi's ,b/grounds & font's. They helped make my cards up this year. I lost time w/ the Vertigo & my heart slowing down.
I used up patterned paper,ribbon,3-D embellishments in my stash. I colored the fonts that Jan made file for me. She helped find fonts in trains,bells, holly & script wording to put on the front of my cards. I colored them w/ my Glaze & a green free Jellyroll pen.
I luv coloring w/ my color pencil collection. I have them by my recliner. I color when watching TV w/ Allen @ nite.
Now to get energy to put my families together
Had a real bad windstorm come thru Sun. Blew a lot of dust around. We're short 2 in. of rain,so very dry here.
Go to heart dr. to get results of holster results. have to rest a couple of days from storm etc.

Mess is off the floor

2010-11-26T12:54:00.004-07:00

Allen surprised me T-giving AM. The shelves he bought put in my room. My stuff that has been in a corner started growing out into the middle of the room.A lot of it is projects in process. 2 boxes of paper scraps I need to sort thru. Now it's all in a tall stack instead of of in a mess on the floor. It does look a lot neater.
I have used up a lot of items in my stash for my C-mas collage cards. I sorted out a lot of card making magazines that were given to me. I passed them onto the Relief Society Pres. for the women in my church to use for ideas for their C-mas projects They had a big super Sat. activity that they could pick them up.
I have books that I have read that will go out when we have a book review @ church.
This house is just to small to keep a lot of stuff in it & be able to move around in
Allen also got me a new watch to stretch over my new arm brace on my right arm. the new brave extends down to my wrist to support it whem I stamp in my room or I'm lifting items in the kitchen. I couldn't wear my watch w/ the strap since it wouldn't fit under my brace. Pendant watches were too expensive!!

What a relief!!

2010-11-26T12:39:00.006-07:00

I actually pulled it off!! It took 3 weeks to do it. I made 53 collage C-mas cards to go to Kuwait for C-mas day.My Vertigo messed up my time line for cards for them to send home to their families.I had to change my plans of time constrains. I was working on color pencil for a sky b/ground. I had surfed the web in trying to keep still the 2nd week of my Vertigo. I printed a lot of free digi's & b/grounds I found on line. It was a lot of cut & paste this year. Jan saved me alot of time by creating a file of titles w/ words in font's of candy canes,trains,ivy & berries & script Merry C-mas. I colored a lot of items in @ nite w/ my glaze pens etc. while T.V.was on.
i did alot of Vintage cards. I used Distress inks, Old Paper & Vintage photo & my tear ruler & Vintage pic's I d/loaded.
My heart is slowing me down so s/things were done in 20 min's etc.Dr's appts just wipe me out. Cooking supper when I get up means I usually have to rest in the recliner.

Need new perspective

2010-10-23T09:55:00.005-06:00

Almost 2 weeks w/this Vertigo. the 1st week was the hardest, The room would spin so bad I would get so disoriented,forget what I was doing. I would end up going back to bed to sleep the med. off. It's an antihistamine so U get sleepy. I was dopey I couldn't function. I couldn't watch TV,read a book or work on my cards.This week I hadn't taken my med to go to a Dr's appt. the movement in the car going around curves was unsettling. On top of it the elevator came to a sudden jolt.That made me more dizzy. I had a bunch of sheets to fill out @ the Dr's office to update. I couldn't really see the fine print & I was tired.Plus the nerve pain in 2 fingers makes it hard for me to hold a pen Allen had to help me fill the papers out.
The heart dr. told me the echo showed some more heart weakness. My pumping capacity has dropped down from 5 to 10 %. that explains the fatigue I'm getting upon on exertion trying to get out to a Dr's appt.i get to the Dr's office already tired. I couldn't even look @my card mag's in my bag this week,just to wiped out. I have to remember to write e/thing down in detail to give to the Dr or I'm to tire to tell them.
This is really cutting into my c/making time. This is my busiest time of the year. I have d/lines to meet for C-mas cards for my GI's. I still don't know how long it takes cards to get to Kuwait.I still haven't heard from 2 of my contacts yet.
My c/making is my sanity valve. Not being able to work in there I don't have a chance to work out my frustrations. I'm having to look 2 what is a priority for that day. If I don't get up & cook 1st thing when I get up I don't have the energy to cook later on. I having to think who is the setting the d/lines. Is this one I'm putting on myself?
I've to come up w/ a comprise on my c-mas cards. Last year I did 2 s/ments of cards. 1 for them to send home to family etc. I have to get them in the mail by 1st of Nov., the latest for them to send back to the states. I can see I'm not going to be able to do that. I don't have anything ready for C-mas this year.
In order to make peace w/myself I decided I can only do 1 s/ment of cards. I decided to focus in on the ones to go to them for C-mas day. I have already been experimenting w/ w/color pencil wash for a b/ground. If I have to I may do an alcohol ink or a chalk b/ground that would be quicker. I want to do a deer card. I found a magnificent buck I printed off & have chalked them. I have some trees stamped off for the b/ground. I also want to use my l/house stamp Jan gave me for some state C-mas cards. I do have items collected ready to collage. I found C-mas brads on E-bay for cheap.It just getting the energy & time to work in ther.
I have finished up my fall cards. My VT cards went in the mail early this week. I just put the rest of the material for fall card away instead of getting frustrated on not making more of them. I did make some vintage T-giving cards the other nite I couldn't sleep. Polly's scraps ,she gave me came in handy both for my fall & T-giving cards.
I have been surfing the web look for free digi's to color. sitting still @ the computer is a way to deal w/ the dizziness. If I sit still, it doesn't spin on me.I found some vintage beehives I printed off for Jenny,my DIL. I also found some cute bee's I printed off. I put yellow Stickles on the wings. I distressed the c/stock w/ Ranger 's ink. I also used some of my core-nation choc. that I sanded down to use as b/ground for the inside.she like bees,her n/name is Jennie Bee.
On top of it Allen has had a rough week. His blood sugar crashed bad @ work this week. the same day we went to the heart dr. Going out to an appt. means I come home & crash in my recliner. I t takes all the energy & sleep I need to just get out the door.
They put him on a new med to better regulate his blood sugar. Plus he's having problems w/blurred vision & light sensitivity. to the point it's making it hard for him to see the screen @ work to program.He's trying to find out if any of his med's may be doing this,his allergy shots etc. It's been a rough week for both of us
My concern is what am I'm going to do as I lose more heart strength & my fatigue level goes up. I have a Puritan work ethic.I always focus in on s/thing to look for ward to get thru the bad times.My scared cow, "my cards" already been compromised. i thought I could deal w/ this when it happened but not really when I'm here & have to accept the fact my heart isn't going to bounce back this time. I go in for a 24 hr holster in early Nov. to look for irregular heart beats. A lot of PVC's showed up on my sleep study & ER visit but none on the EKG @ Dr's office.also will check the blood flow to my legs. How are Allen & I going to deal w/ this when I can't hire anyone to help since I don't get SSD???
+++ side is I have had 4 1/2 years they said I wouldn't had, I did get 100 cards sent out to my GI's in early Sept. I did get to have A RS class @ my house for stamping. I was on a Thur, nite, The mystery heart episode was on Sun. ER visit was Mon am.

OVEN IS ON!!!

2010-10-23T09:41:00.003-06:00

Sw. Pot's fries for supper last nite. 1st time since early April I have had it on
I got up early & baked egg custard, sw. pot's for supper,Chebe choc. chip biscuits( a GF version of cboc-chip treat,)3 flat bread Chebe, 1 went for a taco for my brft.,a cinn.sugar Chebe. Chebe is a mix w/ tapioca flour U put in 2 eggs,oil & H20.Being GF is a hard diet to live on. when Allen makes toast the smell torments me. I use to eat toast & nut butter for brft. every AM.
If I don't cook 1st thing in the AM I don't have the energy to cook later on in the day.I wipe out so easy w/ this Vertigo.

@last I found it!!!

2010-10-23T09:27:00.005-06:00

I have been trying to find a Splat sheet, a Teflon baking sheet U use in the oven. Allen found 1,but didn't get it. He went back & it was gone. I wanted to use it for my craft table to heat emboss on & do alcohol inks on. The reviews said it was better than a Ranger craft sheet & cheaper.U could just wipe e/thing off w/ it even glue. C/o's of the scalloped craft sheet w/ difficulty putting the embossing pow. back in w/ the edges.
I need one of these since I melted a hole in my table forgetting I can't use my heat gun on my table. I have to stand up in my tiny brm to plug the heat gun in over the sink in the light fixture. My gun has to rest on the sink. I have to get up & stand up to emboss my images. Now I can use the plug by my table. I can make a mess now w/my alcohol inks instead of getting a paper bag out to use.
I was surfing on Overstock .com from a blog link.I typed in a blue blouse. After several tries I found a tailored long sleeve blue shirt to go w/ my denim skirts. I have been trying to find one that was on sale etc since Aug.
I also got a box of cards to use for c/making since my hand & elbow are bothering me.
I try Overstock.com again. Now to surf for a Men's wind breaker that is affordable for Allen

New blouses

2010-10-23T09:09:00.004-06:00

I have been trying to get some new clothes since Aug. when I won the GC's on Blog Frog. I kept striking out on Old Navy.My 2nd order got cancelled, so they sent me a a GC for the amount. GAP & the other stores were very expensive.I spent time the 3rd time trying to fins s/thing I wanted. I b-marked some items..Later I went & looked & nah. so I decoded to look @ men's shirts for Allen. I found some dress shirts on sale @ Old Navy. I showed them to him.I asked him If I give U my GC can I have the money to get s-thing on Bargain Catalogue Outlet.He liked what I picked out for him. He even told me thank U!! He now has 2 new shirts in his closet. We both wore our banana shirts the same day.!!
I found 4 shirts in the clearance section. A green pin striped 3/4 sleeve to go w/ my green corduroy jumper, a banana color 3/4 blouse to go w/ my denim horse applique shirt & jumper,a paprika corduroy long sleeve shirt I could layer.
I have been wearing t-shirts w/ these outfits.I wore 2 of the blouse this week to Dr's appt's.( the only place I seem to go!! Have had 3 weeks full of appts.) It's nice to have some new clothes in my closet!! Esp. when they were FREE!!

Vertigo bad!!!!

2010-10-14T17:54:00.004-06:00

Told this dizziness can last months. Get so dizzy I get disoriented. Won't be here for awhile
Ended up in ER Mon am w/it. Had gone in for Echo @ 7:30 am. Results wont be back til Mon. am appt. Fatigue levels gone sky high over the w/end. Having trouble concentrating & remembering things. Having to crash in recliner or bed. Too much fatigue upon exertion.
Not happy camper over this. Supposed to be 65F next Wed. Have been waiting to cool off enough to bake. No extra food in freezer,frig. or shelves for my Gluten free diet. Projects backed up on table.Busiest time of the year for me. Have no C-mas projects started. Was trying to finish up fall cards so I can get my C-mas cards ready for my GI's in the mail in 2 weeks.
Alot of dr. appts etc have sprung up. Have dr. appts the next 2 weeks. These trips are wiping me a lot for the rest of the day into the next.Supper is even harder for me to cook. Any movement makes e/thing go spinning around.Med. in the am takes along time to kick in. some days I'm really in the dumps all I do I'm in the recliner or bed & n/ing gets done.

Luv my skater dragon!!

2010-09-22T11:10:00.003-06:00

Now I have 4 brands of c/p's, my Prisma's.Derwent, Dick Bick's & Poly chrome. The Dick Blick color blending pencils blends so much better than the Prisma one. I now have to use less hand pressure w/the new tech's.This is my tool of sanity. Last Wed. I was still awake @ 4 pm because of a screw up w/ my nite meds. I was in my room coloring since I couldn't sleep & pain was shooting thru my body.

110 cards to Gi's!!

2010-09-22T10:54:00.006-06:00

Sat. 3 s/ments went out, 2 to Afghan,& 1 to Kuwait. I broke my own record !!!!!!The most has been 50 cards to go out. These are male themed images I have been working on since May. I have trains, fishing, l/houses theme related cards. A frog series that I had been collecting items for a year,I'm putting together my cards now from coloring w/ my color pencils this summer during the heat of the day in front of my a/c unit in my bdrm.
Look under GI cards on papercrafterplanet .I go by grandmabear. I have 2 albums, GI cards & GI cards, fall that I added this AM.
I couldn't done this w/o my friends on splitcoast stampers, SwapBot & 2 peas in the bucket. Frog stamps are hard to find. People have sent me frog stamped images,fishing items images,lighthouses, horses & military stamped images(which still need to be made into cards) Thanks to all those who have sent me RAK's & have swapped w/ me

Dustin Pike cards up

2010-09-22T10:37:00.007-06:00

Finally I got these colored images made up into cards. i really proud how my skater dragon turned out. His s/board has 8 layers on it.The pros@ Scribble Talk have some really good tips. I learned how to color w/light feather strokes, use corkscrew circles & light layers. It takes more time but the colors really pop on the paper.
DH walked by the computer when I was uploading my pic's. I posted my 1st still life card. He said who did this? I did. He was a little taken back. I was a little annoyed. He usually doesn't pay attention since he's a big geek to my work.

My sale color pencils

2010-09-12T16:22:00.006-06:00

I found Caron deAche w/color pencils made in Switzerland @ HL in the clearance section @ $18,a set of 24. They retail for $65,D.Blick had them for $58. I want to use them for w/color b/ground for my c-mas card. also underneath it was a book of w/c paper from France that is rough texture.It was1/2 price. I can cut it up into 4 pieces to make card with. I have really hit it big time in that corner in the 2 HL's here. I only buy my patterned paper on clearance out of season or when the new paper comes out.
Then @ D.Blick I found my 24 Derwent cp's @ 40% off for $20.That was cheaper than Prisma's. A lot better quality pencil made in England . I had a GC from Frugal Living community for these.

New bed cover

2010-09-12T16:14:00.005-06:00

Yea! the order was really great from Bargain Outlet Catlog. The bed cover was only $14!!! It looks great ,no problems w/ it. I luv the bright color it brings into the room. things go quickly here. I lost out on the green one i wanted.
My $ 5.00 skirt is lined,no problems w/ it either. It's a size 16 which is hard to find here in El Paso,skirts are far & few to be found on the racks

experiment w/3 brands of color pencils

2010-09-12T16:00:00.005-06:00

I bought 3 brands from Dick Blick,Dick Blick,Derwent, & Luminance. I got white & cream colors so it's apples to apples. I colored the toast on the toaster w/them.Close up U can't tell which ones were that different. Luminance is the premier CP for artist. I just wanted to own one to see what they were like. They are $3.33 apiece. Dick Blick is.79 ,1/2 the price of Prisma's/ A better pencil that lays a nice layer of color down smooth;y w/ no wax build up!!!!
I luv my Derwent Colorsoft pencils!!!They lay a great color down smoothly. they blend great w/ the DB c/blender pencils. I will replace my Prisma's w/ bothe Derwent & D,Blick ones. No more Prisma's for me!!!!

This was my GC I won from Frugal Living community on blogfrog

Dick Blick Products

2010-09-12T15:52:00.005-06:00

i will buy more Dick Blick color pencils to replace my Prisma color pencils. They blend smoother,lay a nice layer of color down & 1/2 the price of Prisma CP's.
They are made in Czech Republic.
I bought their new color blending pencil. It blends much easier than the Prisma ones, Less hand pressure, blends the colors in layers,
no wax build up. I didn't even have to use my stump afterwards.

Dustin Pike Trucks

2010-09-12T15:46:00.002-06:00

I will be putting Keep on Truckin on these for my GI cards/

Scribble Talk

2010-09-12T15:37:00.005-06:00

This is a professional pencil artist site. I look 2 the color pencil artist section. WOW the works done in CP are awesome. i learned some tips from them. 2 of the images from Dustin Pike are my 1st experiments, I learned to color in small cork screw circles. Use a light feather like touch,lightly touch the paper.Use layers from light to dark. Very little hand pressure on these,saved a lot of hand pain.
The colors really popped out on these images. Takes a little longer ,WOW look,less hand pain.
I relly luv the skater. Hiss/board has @ least 8 layers

blog error

2010-09-12T15:34:00.002-06:00

should bring the site upIt is @ papercrafterplanet.com Go to the right side of the page & click on photo's. I use grandmabear there.

Frog cards up

2010-09-12T15:23:00.003-06:00

Go to to see my new frog cards I made. grandmabear is my name there.Look @ the top right area & click on photo's to bring them up. It's too hard to load them on multiple sites& time consuming. I so proud of them .I used alcohol inks for my b/grounds for these. These will be going out in 3 s/ments of cards to 3 GI groups, I in Kuwait,2 in Afghan. soon in the mail
I couldn't had done this w/o help of my fellow stampers & c/makers. Frog images are hard to find. Several people sent me frog stamps & frog paper.
This project has been in the works for over a year. I colored a lot of the images in the heat this summer.

Dick Bick great products!!!!

2010-09-11T06:53:00.007-06:00

My new toys came in the mail Wed. I didn't get to color w/ them till Friday pm.
I ordered white & cream from Dick,Blick,Derwent & Luminance. I want to compare how they lay the color down. I colored the toast on a digi w/each one. I can't tell the difference between the Dick Bick one & the Luminance.They all laid down a nice layer of color smoothly.Iwas able to do a light touch w/them w/ no hand pain
I luv my Derwent Colorsoft pencils the colors go on so smoothly. They also let me lay down layers w/o a wax built up .I had problems w/ Prism. I will replace my Prisms w/ theseI also liked their 5 brown & neutral tones in the tin. .
Dick Blick c/p's are made in Czech Republic. They lay down a nice smooth layer of color, no wax built up.They are 1/2 price of Prisms. Also they are better quality of a pencil than the Prism's they blended great.
D.B just came out w/ a color blender pencil. I luv these. They blend w/ less hand pressure than the Prism ones. No bad hand pain from blending after wards. It blended so well on the card stock I didn't need to use my stubb. This is a good product for 1/2 the price of Prisma. Their S&H is $10.00 so make sure U put in a big order. I will replace my Prisma's as I use them up w/ Dick Blick ones & Derwent.
I will upload pic's of some of my coloring later so U can see the difference

Bargain Outlet Catlog

2010-09-11T06:40:00.005-06:00

This was the best order for my money!!! The bed cover was only $14. It is king size w/ watermelon stripes & bright w/melon color on the other size.I adds a nice splash of color to our bdrm.
My $5.00 skirt is lined w/ a brown & green vine color. It's a size 16,which is hard to find in El Paso
The double sheet set had 250 thread count. They are nice & soft. I needed the fitted sheet for my futon. The dogs shed fur there.so sheets are washable
I will order from them in the future. Their quality was a lot better than Old Navy's. I could shop easily on their site & checkout was easy to do. I'm not a geek,I appreciated sites that are easy to use

Old Navy order returned

2010-09-11T06:25:00.005-06:00

I didn't like the quality of the order. The men's polo shirts were too thin. I thought a man's medium would be bigger than a women's. I was afraid upon washing they may shrink on me. My used polo shirt that I wear as night gown is thicker than these, & it's used to start with!!
DD's long sleeve t-shirt seem thin also. but I needed to send her a gift,so I sent it.
I replaced the men's western shirt since it was a little snug around my stomach & not much of a tail to tuck in.
I ordered a women's blue chambray shirt in extra large,a exlarge Old Navy flag t-shirt & another snap shirt in large. I see how the quality of these items are.
I WILL NOT ORDER FROM OLD NAVY AGAIN!!!!! Their site takes too long to navigate. U had to"READ THE REVIEWS" TO SEE WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID ABOUT THE ITEM.
Their quality is poor!!!! I can get better quality of t-shirts in the thrift store for fraction of the cost. None of mine have holes in the or have shrunk

Christmas this week!!!

2010-09-11T06:04:00.012-06:00

Tue.Bargain Outlet order came.A new watermelon striped cover in King size,$5.00 vine green skirt in size 16,a double set of sheets.

Wed. Old Navy order of 3 mo's pastel polo shirts,long sleeve women's t-shirt.
DICK BICK came in the mail. A set of 24 Derwent color pencils,Dick Blick & a Luminance color pencils. 2 sets of scratch board for DD's b-day

Thur. Organs wise-kids education summer kit w/ DVD's,coloring books & 2 stuffed animals . this teaches about the organs of the body in cartoon style. I won this in a drawing on a blog. I'm sending it my GS for a late b-day gift.This a great teaching tool.

My colonial candle order came. glad I got Bamboo garden in votive only. Too strong for me. The apple cake smells yummy. Will burn it today. the pillar is a recycled one,not much scent. Will see how they burn,hopefully longer than the ones I have had.

Old Navy review

2010-09-07T19:27:00.004-06:00

This was a frustrating experience. I had $50 g/card. I hoped to buy a red shirt waisted dress.The reviews said it was too short.I was taller than the women listed.
I looked @ women's T-shirts for DD b-day. the reviews on the ones that were on sale were bad,holes or shrinkage upon washing. I had to spend extra time reading reviews to get a good product for DD.
I was stuck trying to find s/thing in my size. I didn't want hoodie since it doesn't stay cold long enough here. I ended getting 3 men's polo shirts.If I bought 2 of them,I got the 3rd one for $10. so i got 3 shirts for the price of 2. I wear men's t-shirts in the thrift stores. They are longer than women's t-shirts.They seem to wear better.
I had a women's shirt w/ snaps on it. I happened to check the men's western shirts, Almost a $10 difference in price!!! I got that instead in a short sleeve.I don't care if it snaps on the other size.Why is men's clothing cheaper than women's @times?????
Pain in the BUTT online problems. DH had to open a new account for me,it wouldn't take my p/word. I write my p/words down in my n/book so I remember them.
i spent more time on their site trying to find what I wanted.
WILL NOT SHOP OLD NAVY ONLINE!!!!! I give them a :D" for online shopping
I wanted to try co.'s I hadn't shop @ before w/ my g/cards.We see what my order is like when it arrives.al

First pkg came fromBargain Outlet!!!

2010-09-07T19:16:00.004-06:00

I now will have a bright w/melon cover on my bed.It will brighten up the bdrm. got the king size,no queen.Also a set of double sheets,the fitted sheet will go on the futon.The dogs shed fur etc,so we can wash up the sheets to get rid of the dog hair.
My $5.00 skirt no problems,in good shape. The color will go great w/ my beige blouses for the fall.

Frugal living community this is a good co. to get a good buy & bargain. Things go quick here. I went back to my cart later, I lost the 1st bed cover.
They were easy to shop online. I'm a non tech geek,I was able to get around & find the items.No problem on checkout w/my G.card.
For a 1st time buyer I give them an "A" on customer satisfaction

Mother's Prayers Answered

2010-09-03T15:03:00.005-06:00

Last year I almost didn't make my 60th b-day. I had 3 major asthma attacks in July 2009. I made 3 visits to my lung. dr. trying to get the 3rd attack under control. I ended up in heart floor for 2 1/2 since my BP went sky high. I slept most of Sept. I couldn't talk on the phone to my kids till Oct.
Heidi later called us ask if she could come out & see us for T-giving. This was a good carrot to dangle in front of me to fight back so I could see them. S/how all 4 of my kids came,from N.C, Denton & Arlington Tx. Heidi has 3 kids,so 5 plane tickets,Jan works full time, & Allen had to schedule time from his project that had d/lines. Forest never been able to get off enough time from the Dallas library since there was no one to take his place for 5 days. Laura works @ Block Buster,low paying job. It's a 10 hour drive from DFW to get here.We all hadn't been together for T-giving since 1997.
What concerned me most as a mother if I died what would happened tom my youngest DD.All of my other 3 kids had done well for themselves. L. never st goals in H'S, It was like pulling teeth to keep her motivated. I know ADD,depression & puberty had made things rough for her. But my son had ADD & dyslexia,we had learned to set goals etc w/him to stay on track. She didn't take the ACT's @ all.she graduated w/ a good B+.(In our family U lose privileges ex phone,T.V.game systems,dances etc. if UR grades drop down. U only get them back when the grades go back up in the next report card)
I started praying for her 2 years ago to get some direction in her life. I asked Heavenly Father to watch over & let her know she was loved by us &by HIM. She was just drifting thru life,path of least resistance. If I was to die ,who was going to watch over her. What happened if she losses her job w/ no job skills or ed?
She not a bad kid,not into drugs or had kids out of marriage etc.Just working a boring job & hanging out w/ kids that use her it seems like.She ha taken AP art & had art from grade school on she excelled in.she's a really good w/ little kids.Had been b/sitiing @ a young age. had worked in our church nursery since she was 12 . Even was a Nursery leader when out of HS The kids adored her & clung to her when she came Sun's. she said she didn't have the patience to teach kids today. Not taking the ACT stopped her from enrolling in 1 teacher'school.
In Jan.she posted she wanted to set some new goals for the New Year.
She needs to take a driving test w/ a friends car to get her Driver's licence
Early August she posted on Facebook she was going to enroll for Criminal Justice. A big move for her. she's very private person w/ a big personal place, she had been trying to get into animal rescue work thru an animal shelter or Humane Society. Lack of a car has made this goal impossible to obtain.
She wants to get involved in enforcing the laws for animal cruelty. I encouraged to start @ the community college instead of the expensive program @ Phoenix Univ. program. so she applied @ TCC in 1st of Aug.They didn't send her a letter telling she had been accepted to late Aug. she went to register. A very RUDE lady told her she hadn't taken the placement test. It was TCC fault they sent notice out so late she missed the last test. No school till spring,that sucks for a kid who's trying to put her life together. She turn 25 yrs old this Oct & wanted to get started w/ online classes this fall.
This was a big relief to me to know God has been watching over & she started in the right direction to be able to know where to go in life.
i was really touched when she went out her way to get her Dad a get well card. He ended up in ER room w/ chest pains. I'm the one w/ the problems,Allen is my caregiver.They scheduled him for an emergency angioplasty the next am. They had kept him in ER all day waiting for a room. I was unable to be w/him because of my fatigue from the heat.
It was a roller coast ride for me,since I'm now dependent on him.
Of all 4 kids she sent him a get well card. she doesn't have a car so it meant she had to get s/one to take her get a card & get some stamps.Knowing this really touched my heart on the extra effort it took for it to get to him.

Luckily the heart is fine,no blockages. they sent him to the GI for an end scope.
GERD can cause chest pain.They changed his reflux med. The scope showed he's a genetic d/order which causes rings in the esophagus. This cause hisesophagus to narrow which has caused food to get stuck. They give him an inhaler to relax the muscles

WON $150 GIFT CARDS!!

2010-09-03T14:27:00.004-06:00

I couldn't believe the e-mail I got a few weeks ago. I was told I had won a drawing for posting the most replies in the Frugal Living community on blog frog.They had started a new community there.Being older & having managed to be a SAHM on 1 income ,I joined in. I just thought maybe if I went back each day, I get a grab @ 1 of the $ 25 CG.I had older women in Utah when younger who had raised families in the Depression.Also I'm a member of the L.D.S.Church(Mormon) which teaches it;s members to be self sufficient. I have learned to make bread,all kinds of home baked goods from scratch,cook meals from scratch,can both fruits & vegetables,make my own low sugar jam,sew my clothes, curtains etc.,plant a garden, decorate a home,ceramics ,candle making,fruit leather,cook diabetic & gluten free baked goods, cook a lot of ethic foods ex. Indian & Oriental types, card making & scrap booking. I'm very visual so if I can see it I can do it. I don't crotchet or knit since I can't pull the directions off the paper. I don't decorate fancy cakes or make h/made candy
I was just adding comments to the posts I read. I have found blogfrog when I went to Modern Molly Mormon blog which I hadn't been on for awhile.
I got to pick my merchants. I picked out $50from Bargain Outlet Catalog,$50,Old Navy, $20,Colonial Candle,$30 Dick Bick.
I had to send an e-mail to the person who sent it to ask if this was real. I didn't want to get my hopes up. i had to wait a w-end for a reply. It was 1 of those early am's where I'm up 1/2 asleep zoning in on the computer when I see my e-mail. Yes it was real.WOW!!!! A shot in the arm. We just had 3 weeks of of 100F in August. My back wasn't healing as fast as I wanted it to. I was spending time crashing out in my recliner etc trying to deal w/ the heat. There has been no extra money in our budget. We still deal w/big credit debt from 7 yrs ago job loss,medical bills etc. Plus we're earning $20,000 less in El Paso as a programmer.any gift money etc goes towards supplies for my GI card route.
I had so much fun going thru the sites looking @stuff. Being as frugal as I'm e/thing is on sale or clearance to get more bang out of my BUCK!
I'm writing a entry on ease of using their online sites & the quality of the products later

HOT,HOT & MORE HOT

2010-08-29T06:23:00.005-06:00

August is supposed to be a monsoon month. It did cool off a bit w/ some rain in July. August added to our total of 28 100F days. Norm is 14,usually in June our hottest month.That doesn't count the days we had 98 &99F days.
The heat is just draining me.I don't think my body regulate itself w/ the heat well anymore. I had been getting up early to cool supper in the early am. The last 1 1/2 weeks I have been so wiped out i have been crashing out late in the am. If the kitchen is hot @ 6& 7 am I'm sweating It's going to be a cooker of a day.
I have been spending time in the recliner usually w/ a heat back on my back trying to stretch out my back from being in bed; w/the portable a/c unit & fan blowing on me. when it gets to hot @ 4 pm I have to go into my bdrm & park myself in my w/chair in front of my window unit to breathe the cool air. I have do stay there to avoid an asthma attack. I have ice cold water & jar of snacks in there. I wait for Allen to come home to warm up supper in m/wave or pull a salad out. The kitchen heats up too hot for me to exert myself in it.
I even been going to bed @8:30 pm most of the last 2 weeks.My body just to wiped out w/ the heat to sit up anymore. I wake up w/ Charley horse s/times,since the heat just washes out my minerals & potassium. the heat also makes me retain fluid more. I have to take a water pill this summer. I have to be real careful to stay hydrated. I now keep a frozen bottle of juice water etc. by my recliner to melt so I can fluids down while I'm resting. I've been keeping boiled eggs, nuts & cheese around to eat as quick meals since meat & heat don't mix w/ me. i drank a lot of frozen protein shakes during the heat of the day.
Sept. is predicated to be above norm in temps. & low in rain!!!Oct. can't come to soon for me!!I want to work in my room!!! My frog materials for a set of GI cards is sitting there. My big s/bk project is still on the floor in it's box. Toby my g/son didn't get his present & card. It's just to hot to work in there.
Fri' I had an asthma attack 4-4:30 pm. Our portable a/c unit bearings became noisy. Had to turn it off Fri. a/noon. I put the dogs out & grabbed the head set for the phone. Extertion in the heat triggered it. On top of it I had to get out the door to go to my D.C appt since my lower back was jammed. I was so dizzy I almost blacked out trying to get up out my w/c to go out the front door. Luckly my lung dr. had given me some Predistone, I had on my dresser. Fri. nite my feet were getting ice cold, the coldness started moving up into my calves of my legs. I was afraid an adrenal attack was started. So @ midnite I took 3 tabs/ of it. It can cause insommia. I wa trying to ride out the nite w/ o it. An hour later my feet started warming up.
Allen charged my scooter for me Sat am. He patiently took it apart & put it back 2 times in the car so I could go to the library. I spent 4 hours in the central a/c to get cool air into my lungs.
I was able to work on my Spanish voc. words since my room has been too hot to work on them. I read a Nat'l Geo. mag & quick skim of a craft mag. + I talked to 2 women who sat @ my table. I had the new chicken apple salad @ Wendys since Allen was out of ideas for supper. BEd early &*pm.

Bad fall

2010-08-29T05:37:00.005-06:00

It's been almost 2 mo's since I posted here. 6 weeks since I have fallen. I have to take a laxative each week since my colon is so long. s/times the upper colon isn't emptying out so I have to take it 2 days in a row. My other choice is to get stuck w/ a colostomy bag. My skin probably wouldn't like the glue on the bag!! I'm too big a risk for the surgery.
I had been asleep in my recliner w/ a hot pack to my back. I live w/ muscle spasms which can kink my colon down to a total stop. so hot packs & the heat are no fun. My recliner is next to a portable a/c unit in the liv. rm. I woke up hot, needed my inhaler. I was waiting on more inhalers to come,so I had to go into the bdrm to get it. I wa probably also dehydrated& potassium was washed out from the laxative.
My long 0-2 line was on,a big coil of it had gotten wadded up by the door. I was really dazzled when I got up. I didn't realize my foot had gotten caught in the hose. The next thing I knew I was flat on the floor,face 1st. I can no longer get off the floor. I have muscle loss from my post-polio. I was afraid if I tried to pull myself up by my arms I tear my shoulders again. What will happen if I fell again trying to get up? Pain was exploding thru my back & my right knee. I would later realize I hit the left collarbone hard on the foot board of the bed & have a big gash on it.
The phone was in the living room. I had to scoot into the liv. rm from my bdrm on my butt. I had to call Allen to come home & get me off the floor. I had to wait 30 mins. on a hard lino floor to wait for him. I leaned against the recliner while waiting. the dogs came over 1 by 1 to lick my face & comfort me. I think Fluffy after several times of coming over I grabbed her & hugged here & cried because of her concern for me. They helped me stayed distracted from the pain shooting thru me.
Getting me off the floor w/o causing more injury is a feat in itself. I wear full bracing on my left arm & hand,a custom long leg brace on my right leg & a knee sleeve on my left knee. My right long arm brace was off.My joints hyper extend along w/ my post-polio I need them for support. My Dr later said my bracing probably broke my fall. I just know my body took a big jolt when it hit the floor.
Thank goodness Allen had some pain med from a dental appt. I don't usually take pain meds thou I live w/a lot of pain. Tynol wasn't going to cut this pain!!! I ice packed my upper back & my right knee. Allen put me in bed. I would take pain med's for the next day which is unusual for me.
I would later have a 2 inch bruise below my gash( which had 2 holes in it. I also had a big bone bruise which was very sore for awhile. @ days later my whole r. knee had a big dark bruise. After my 1st back adjustment the area around my neck & collarbone swelled up & still has faint bruise.
It's taken longer than I hoped for recovery. the upper back has finally stopped going into muscle spasms & is staying in place better. My lower back is still jamming up on me. My right hip in 2 places is locking up still. the cartilage just tightens up so tight. I'm having to keep a tepid hot pack on 2 places during the nite .then I have to do stretches w/ the legs to stretch out my muscles there.
I'm still going to the D.C 1 a week. I can't empty out my colon if my back is out. the nerve pitch it off.
I still can't stamp my new stamps given to me because the pressure is too much pain my back. I couldn't even color w/ my Prisms for 3 weeks.I had stacks of solored images I couldn't blend w/ my stubbs until the last week Just trying to color w/them put to much pressure on the elbow & pain radiating into my back. I spent 2 days w/ice packs @ 1st in bed or my recliner. Then it's been hot packs in the heat !! to deal w/ the muscle spasms.
Thank goodness for headsets for the phone. 3 weeks into my injury I spent s/time w/ my son giving out family history info. More on this later
Now I leave my front door unlocked on the day i take my laxative. I let my f/ful n/bors Phil & Marie it's Poop Day. That way I have a backup if I have a problem.

Fluffy LAP DOG of the MONTH

2010-08-29T04:57:00.002-06:00

I had a bad fall in July. My dogs are best,loyal buddies.Fluffy senses when s/thing is wrong w/ me.
When I fell,I couldn't get myself off the floor. I had to scoot into my liv. rm from my bdrm to get to the phone to call Allen. I leaned against my recliner to wait for Allen. @least a 30 min wait on a hard lino. floor .Pain was exploding thru me. Each one of my 3 dogs took turns coming over to lick my face to show concern. I only cried when Fluffy had come over several times. She has the most expressive brown eyes when she's concerned.
Needless to say I spent a lot of time in my recliner. I couldn't press down on anything since it made my back & right arm hurt.
Fluffy, a terrier-poodle mix,saw the recliner going up for me to get into it,would come & stand by. She would then jump up in my lap after I got into a reclining position. She would climb up into my chest & put her head down on me. It was just a comfort to pet her.It helped to pass the time. She would then turn around & lay down between my legs. S/times she go down by my feet & go to sleep. If I slept too long she would climb back up into my lap & lick my face or put her paws on my chest to say"Are U okay?"
If I stay too long in my bed,my dogs are scratching @ my door until I get up to open the door.They all run in "Mommy are U okay,getting up? We miss U!!"
Fluffy has been good compaionship during this time. Being housebound sucks as it is but being down w/ a back injury & the heat has even been harder.
George my Italian Greyhound mix has his own mind. S/times he come & lay down w/ me. Fluffy lays over my lap preventing George from having room to jump up. When he did he have to perch up on my shoulder all folded up like a fold up s/case. He makes a certain sound when he's content being petted up there. when he ready he comes & lays down on a spot on my left side of my recliner. This is his permanent parking space reserved for him. It's too small for Fluffy to fit into. then he leaves if he feels he's too squashed w/ Fluffy up there.
Taco,my chichihua pup is my face washer when I hold him in my lap. He;s too active to be a lap dog. He luvs to play tug of war & pull of my socks. George & him s/times wrestle over who should have the sock. Both socks have to be pulled off!! The job not done until he licks my toes. It's so funny both George when younger have to shake the sock like they're breaking it's neck.

I won !st place!!

2010-07-04T12:50:00.007-06:00

I'm doing card challenges on Paper Planet in the group,Anything but Cute. Sentiments were this week topic.
I choice to do a patriotic theme for my GI stash. It's the embossed gold star one on the flickR slide show.It has a vellum saying over the Eagle & Statue of Liberty on the left side.
I was really surprised i won. Last week I was really disappointed I didn't win w/ either Allen's train b-day card or 1 of the set of the steam engines I did. Ijust decided to do some for my GI's & just post them.

Crappy week

2010-07-04T11:48:00.006-06:00

The week of June 23rd was to be our anniversary. We were to go to Ruidoso N.M to get out of the heat for our 31st anniversary. Allen made an appt. to see the heart dr Tue because of slight chest pains. they did a stress test Wed.It was normal. The EKG had a problem,the long part of the heart beat was skewed. They said he wasn't getting enough )-2. He was to be scheduled for a cat scan w/ another dr. Thur am.No appt by the end of Wed.Allen was real restless that nite. I get up from 3:30 to 4;30 am to beat the heat to get on here. I usually cook supper @ 6 or 7am since the kitchen heats up by noon
He came into his recliner & said the chest pain was more persistent & he was short of breath. I told him he needed to go to ER & he wasn't going to work. I told him he needed to call the dr's office to find out which hospital he should go to.It wasn't 9am yet,so I told him to rest until they would call him back. Phil,our n/bor took him to Sierra hospital. I didn't go,I was too tired. The heat had taken a beating on me.I slept out cold from 9am to 1 pm. He had to wait on the lab work to see if he had a heart attack. Then he waited for the heart dr. to come. He decided to do an angioplasty & skipped the cat scan. He wanted to see if there was a blockage going into the heart. both of his parents have had this done.Then he was waiting for a room @ the hospital. Then he found out no appts to get in,so they had him come home.He got an appt.@ Los Palmos @5:30 am for it.
Allen told me got a ride w/ someone from church. I was told I wasn't going.NO WAY HOSEA,WAS THAT GOING TO HAPPEN!! He has always been there for me when I have been in ER w heart problems. Maria my n/bor a good friend came over to visit me. I asked her if she could give me a ride to be w/ Allen when he woke up.
Phil & Marie were@ our doorstep@ 4:30 am to take us. They took Taco to go play w/his siblings for the day.it took e/thing I had to get out of the door that early. I didn't hear a/thing till 11a.m.I had planned ahead & packed me some food the nite before to eat. I can't push myself down to a place to eat. I made sure I had plenty of water to drink also. I was so tired I could only make 1 phone call to 1 kid,Heidi was the only one home. Later I found out she gave Mom G the wrong message. She was arguing me on the phone when I was so tired!!I told her her dad was fine. Allen's cell phone keys are so tiny I has a hard time navigating on it. I'm beginning to lose feeling on the tips of my fingers & more small motor coordination loss .
Phil& Marie came to pick us up after 12pm to take us home. I was so exhausted. Before they left they asked if they could get us s/thing to eat. They went to Carl's Jr &got us lunch. I had A chicken Teraki burger& bought 2 m/shakes. Allen was on a limited diet & this/thing cold to drink. I ate the s/wich & slept out cold till 8pm that nite.
They decided it wasn't his heart. Their were no blockages & the heart looks fine. Reflux can cause chest pains even on med's. He supposed to see the GI dr. next . He won't get a pillow wedge like I sleep on elevate to stop the reflux from coming up. also he get's congested @ nite & can't wear his mask w/his sleep machine
Allen had restrictions placed on him,no lifting or driving etc.Allen is my lifeline. Sat. is our errand day & he does our laundry. Our Home teacher came Thur. nite to give us both blessings. We needed some help since I was down w/ the heat & couldn't pick up the slack. Sis.Finster ,our R.S. pres. came to wash up a sink load of dishes Fri. Pm She came Sat am to pick up our dirty laundry.It came back all neatly folded etc. sis. Austin & her dau. picked up our groceries,carried them all in & helped put them away.
Heidi,in N.C had offered to come out to help us on Thur. The plane fares were $800.way too much money!!
My colon got really backed up again!! I had taken 4 laxatives tab's that previous Friday, Tue. & wasn't still emptying my upper colon out. I had put on 3# in a week,due to retaining fluids. I wasn't feeling very good myself. I had to go to my DC to put my jammed back in. It took a full day of hot packs in the hot weather to get rid of the back muscle spasms.I t would later take 4 laxative tabs & 4 magic Bullet suppositories to empty out my colon the next Sunday.
We had to reschedule our trip to the July 2nd to go to Ruidiso,N.M.