The weekend is here

                                            So, do you have any plans? Hope you’re doing something fun! We are…

Friday turned out to be great. No rain overnight and not a drop til late afternoon and then it was just sprinkles. Jim was able to do some yard work and I did laundry and cleaned the floor. A lot of debris was tracked in during our rainy days.  

I didn’t feel inspired for lunch so we had spring rolls and edamame for lunch. Afterwards Jim took a nap. All that fresh air wore him out! He’s been doing good about the napping. Most days he skips it opting to read or watch tv.  

                                   Handmade cards because:

No one displays an email on the mantle or

Shows off a tweet on the fridge or

Saves a Facebook post in a box of treasures

Total for the year, 251 cards made

This is a sheet of 12 x 12 paper.  Recently I've seen a lot of card makers making slim line cards.  There are at two sizes, the larger will fit in a business envelope and the small fits into a security envelope  (3 5/8 x 6 1/2 inches).  A 12 x 12 paper will make 4 cards by cutting into 6 x 6 panels.  You can see where I cut this paper in the first photo. The backside of this paper is plain. But you can use double sided paper and just add a white insert for  writing your message

Scare at 3 inches and viola!  you have a 3 x 6 inch card already decorated. The top left and the two on the bottom needs some decorating but are quite pretty as they are

the final four!  Using matching papers from the same pad I cut out some flowers, butterflies and the greenish strip.  Used  a hello stamp and some ribbon and I have some pretty in pink cards to mail out. I also stamped on the envelope.

Did you notice?  Over 250 cards made and it's the end of June...perhaps this is the year I'll reach 500 cards made...

Saturday was a beautiful day.  We met Sonsearae and Chris at a local restaurant, Peony River for some Chinese food.  Boy was it good!  We were the only diners.  Folks in this area are still leery about dining in. Out door seating or take out is the norm.  Hopefully this will change as time passes and fewer Covid reports.

Jim is 'store' sitting for Christy and Rik today.  Rik's son is visiting and the three of them drove over to the Jacksonville area to visit family.  So Jim is keeping an eye on the critters and making sure Dobby is let out and gets some exercise.  Jim also gets to feed the two orphan lambs.  Two ewes recently (one yesterday) gave birth but they don't require feeding.  

We enjoyed leftovers today.  On Sunday I like to clean the fridge of containers!  Jim had some of the Chinese leftovers (there were a lot!) and I had spaghetti and a slaw.  

So how was your weekend? Hopefully it involved family, food and fun.  

all is right in our world

Rain, Rain and more rain

   We’ve had more rain. It’s Florida, it’s supposed to rain!

Monday we headed out for brunch around 1000. Jim slept late and had a dental appointment coming up. He’s a big fan of breakfast. Me not so much. While he enjoyed a Mexican omelet, hash browns and a biscuit, I had a salad. 

We had time to kill before the dentist and Jim headed to Best Buy where we proceeded to get me a new tablet.  My previous one had a few annoying problems and he was tired of me complaining I guess.  New one works like a charm but you can't use plug in ear buds.  So I had to have Blue Tooth ear buds.  Sound it super!

After the dentist we headed to Costco for a couple items, then headed home. 

Tuesday it rained pretty much all day letting up late afternoon. Not a steady downpour, just off and on. The groomer arrived and Boo got his self all dandified! He was looking pretty shaggy. Poor thing, we had to wake him up. Lately he’s been sleeping/staying in bed for 12 hours or more. Calls of nature and meals rouse him. Many days he skips breakfast.

Last week I started having a pain in my back. Not really sure the source. But poor posture or my gallbladder could be the culprits. Maybe both. All I know is it’s very tiresome. It causes sleep deprivation for both Jim and I. It seems to be easing and I slept well Tuesday night. No pain when I got up, but sitting in my lounge chair and the pain is back…

                                Handmade cards because:

No one displays an email on the mantle or

Shows off a tweet on the fridge or

Saves a Facebook post in a box of treasures

Total for the year, 247 cards made

Using up retired SU Paper.  This big, bold Birthday Wish stamp from Stampin' Up! makes the card simple.  I also used some matching paper on the envelopes

For a red white and blue challenge I first made this card. Quite plain and simple but I like it.  All Stampin' Up!

Same challenge but I stepped it up a bit!  Again I used all Stampin' Up! supplies.  

Wednesday I had a hair appointment and as we left the house another downpour.  We quickly drove out of it but there was evidence of rain all along our drive to the salon.  Jim waited in a patch of shade while I got my hair trimmed and styled.  The sun was out and it was starting to get steamy.

Our choice for lunch was World of Beer.  Have you ever been?  They have a lot of beer on tap and typical lunch offerings for a sports bar.  Jim got a burger and fries.  I opted for mahi mahi  tacos without the tortillas.  They served it up salad style and it was quite tasty.  I also had some tater tots...

It was raining when we left.  One more stop at Publix, where it was raining buckets but we needed coffee cream so we both braved the elements and got what we needed.  Just sprinkling when we left.

We have plans for Saturday but I think we're just staying home until then.  We've been watching the Crown and Longmire...I think they're both on Netflix.  Both are interesting 

All is right in our world

Tropical Storm Claudette

 Goodness me! This is a wet tropical storm. I did sleep most of the night but it seems like it rained all night, Saturday night.  Nothing heavy but wave after wave of showers.  Pretty sure this area has had enough rain.  The rain finally dwindled off and sun came out for Sunday afternoon.

Last Friday I started having a back pain.  I thought it was posture related and just carried on.  But it got worse and I now think it was gallbladder related.  In any case sleeping wasn't in the cards for me and because of my pain and restlessness, Jim didn't get much sleep either.  I napped Saturday and Sunday.  Jim slept in Sunday morning.  The pain is still there, seems to get worse when I am upright.

We had plans for Father's Day but we bailed.  Sonsearae and Chris invited us, with permission, to a friends house to celebrate.  Instead, Sonsearae brought some ribs, baked beans and pasta salad for us to enjoy and gifts to her dad.  It was wonderful to see her and she visited for a bit before going to the party.

We have clouds this Monday morning, I guess remnants of Claudette.  Jim has an appointment later with the dentist

                                  Handmade cards because:

No one displays an email on the mantle or

Shows off a tweet on the fridge or

Saves a Facebook post in a box of treasures

Total for the year, 242 cards made

All Stampin' Up!  I used the Tasteful Touches stamps to create the paper and using a template from Jessica Taylor  I made these six cards.

I

This next card is one of my favorites.  Using Fine Art Floral DSP from Stampin' Up!  I also used the paper to decorate the flap of the envelope. The sentiment is from Art Gallery stamps which match the paper

Three more cards from Echo Park Papers

I hope ya'll had a wonderful weekend!

All is right in our world

It's the season of tepid

              What's that you say?  Tepid water comes out of the tap.  Almost to the point where I won't have to turn on the hot water to take a shower.  It was handy when we lived in New Orleans.  All the water pipes were in the attic and I could do a sink full of dishes before I ran out of hot water....and I mean hot!

We're also into the hurricane season and in the past they have come ashore and laid waste to this area.  So we'll be staying on top of it.  We have trees that could be a problem.  So far today TS Claudette in the Gulf has just caused us some cloudy weather as it came ashore.

I did see my therapist yesterday and she put me through all the stretches and I passed with flying colors.  There is still some resistance in my right shoulder but with time it should improve.  But I can use my right arm without wincing in pain.  This is good!  It also means I can do normal things like taking off a t-shirt, tossing laundry with my right hand etc.  There is some arthritis and hopefully if I continue using the resistance bands it wont get worse.

                                   Handmade cards because:

No one displays an email on the mantle or

Shows off a tweet on the fridge or

Saves a Facebook post in a box of treasures

Total for the year, 232 cards made

Flowering Cactus from Stampin’ Up! The colors in this set are just delightful to me. Unfortunately it’s retiring the end of this month. So if you like it, get it soon! I can help with that.

The Painted Poppies stamps makes for a nice card. So far I’ve only used this one stamp and it is a sympathy card. Every now and then you need them

Challenge card! We had to use this layout with any paper and stamps. True Love DSP is a favorite of mine, all black and white with flowers you can color. It also is retiring the end of this month. Using alcohol markers I colored the flower and leaves then fussy cut and mounted on the circular die cut card stock. Also used an embossing folder for the background layer. 

 

Using some of my Mintay Home for Christmas I made this card. A lot of detail here! Embossed paper is torn around the edges as is the main image. Embellished with random bow, bird and stars

Our rain started around 0930. TS Claudette is messing up weekend plans for some folks.  Small bursts of rain all afternoon, even a patch of sunshine.  There are still some showers being pulled up out of the Gulf.  

All is right in our world

Day Trip to St George Island

 

Earlier this month we went to St George Island.  Lovely drive and I can't begin to tell you how nice it was to be near the salt water!  Smelled so good...we both needed some Vitamin Sea.  Now I need a trip to the mountains!  LOL  We both miss traveling but Jim just isn't into driving much anymore (perhaps just locally) and neither of us enjoy the journey much unless it's picturesque.  We had lunch at Paddy's Raw Bar, pretty much our kind of place.  We sat outside and had a tiny view of the bay. 

                                  Handmade cards because:

No one displays an email on the mantle or

Shows off a tweet on the fridge or

Saves a Facebook post in a box of treasures

Total for the year, 226 cards made

Isn't this paper lovely?  Stampin' Up! of course.  The template is from Crafty Al, June 20121.  Every month Alicia shares a new template on her YouTube channel.  Usually I have a set made within a couple days!  I used Vanilla cardstock and the paper is Pattern Party Paper, the sentiment is from Tasteful Touches and ink and card mat is Rococo Rose.  Soft and lovely!

Using up so Old SU Paper I made these using the January 2020 template from Crafty Al

Echo Park February 2021 Card kit featuring Carta Bella paper

Do you have any plans for the weekend?  Today I'm stripping the bed...as soon as Jim get's up.  He decided to sleep in today.  The doctor told him to try going for two weeks without a nap to reset his sleeping pattern.  Not sure if it's working!

This afternoon I have my last therapy visit.  I think we're doing something for Father's Day but I'm not sure about it.

All is right in our world

Making cards plus this and that

 It’s the middle of June and heating up around here. And I expect as summer arrives and lingers it will only get hotter. But we don’t mind. Air conditioning is a marvelous thing to use.  We’re getting out in the world a bit more now that the governor has let us remove our masks. I wonder how long it will last. Was it for the tourist money or because of vaccinations? Time will tell. 

Mostly our outings are grocery or medical related. But occasionally we head to different venues like farmers markets.  Always fun to check out and buy locally.  Went to Barnes and Nobles!  First time in a long while...certainly the first time since we've been in Tallahassee.  It was nice thumbing through our magazines,  drinking coffee.  The simple things are fun, don't ya think?

Last Sunday we had brunch over at Sonsearae and Chris' house.  He cooked us some yummy buttermilk pancakes. Some bacon, warm maple and blueberry compote was served....I had the blueberries!  Afterwards Sonsearae and I went to a farmers market in her neighborhood then went to Costco.  The guys watched movies or napped. 

                                    Handmade cards because:

No one displays an email on the mantle or

Shows off a tweet on the fridge or

Saves a Facebook post in a box of treasures

Total for the year, 204 cards made

Stampin’Up! Has this beautiful new paper, Hand Penned. I love the colors in this collection. You’ll be seeing more as I work my way through the paper

These fold down from the top, no stamping involved! Just the pretty paper

This is actually a pocket card, the thanks part slides out to write your message

                                      Simple but gorgeous!

 

The inside has this special pop out . I need to add some white paper to write on

All is right in our world