Roller Coastal Temperatures

 It's spring time in North Florida. Our neck of the world has been enjoying pollen!  Pollen from Pine trees and perhaps the blooming trees and bushes.  So much pollen that cars are coated with it.  I even saw a picture that showed the tides of rising water, it made a rig of yellow around the piling.  

Another harbinger of spring is the Live Oaks.  They shed their leaves so new ones can appear.

As ya'll north of us get these fronts, we do too....and it gives us the illusion of warmer temperatures.  Then a cold front arrives and we get rain and colder temperatures!  Back and forth we go, but I'm not complaining, all to soon it will be hotter than hades

Jim is still seeing independent doctors to get his VA claim settled.  Two more scheduled appointments soon and it will be over.  Then we'll wait to see if he's entitled to any monetary payments.  He also has an ongoing GI problem that we'd both like to get resolved.  More tests to see if that can show anything.  I know he's quite tired of this 'problem' as am I.  

Of course I've been making cards, perhaps not daily but it does give me pleasure.

All is right in our world

Dreary Day

 I'll be glad when this day is over!  Started raining before I got up this morning.  And it has continued to rain off and on all day.  It just makes me chilly.  Perfect for napping but I resisted.  Jim took a nap then got up and had some carrot cake!

We spent Jim's birthday with Sonsearae and she treated us to lunch at Azu which we all enjoyed immensely.  I did have leftovers which I finished off that evening.  

After that we went to a cat café, you pay to sit and play with cats that are up for adoption.  So we all had some fun petting and playing with the cats

Sonsearae really likes cats

I think all of us liked this grey cat

From there we headed to Food Glorious Food where they specialize in pastries.  Jim got the aforementioned carrot cake, Sonsearae got a coconut cream pie and I got a decadent slice of heaven that tastes like an Almond Joy

All in all it was a fun afternoon, thank you Sonsearae!

This first set of cards is made with retired DSP from Stampin' Up!  I like the watery feel of these, the colors soothe my soul

Simple card using older DSP and much older gold paper from who knows where!

Again some older DSP with a pretty template to help use up my paper

All is right in our world

Happy Mardi Gras

                                                    

Having lived in New Orleans for over 20 years I still miss it throughout the year. So much going on! Festivals celebrating everything from Andouille to Zydeco. If it has to do with food to music there is a festival for it.  Mardi Gras is the culmination of carnival season (which started in early January). Laissez les bons temps rouler!

The past couple of weeks our weather has been slowly warming up. We’ve even gone to Mashes Sands, our closest beach in Panacea. We have always liked being on or near the water. What is it about salt and sand? To smell the salt air, to hear the surf approaching the shore and watch it pull back. Mesmerizing…it soothes my soul

For some reason Jim has decided to grow a beard.  Sometimes I let my hair grow too.  For the most part it's because I don't like using the phone to call and make an appointment!  Not sure of his reason

Here are a few of my recent cards. Cardmaking is a joy for me and I have so many in my stash!  Let me know if you would like to receive one or two.  I have a list of family and friends I send to on a regular basis...you know, just to say hello!

If you think you'd like to try your hand at making cards this kit is perfect!  No stamping Just follow the instructions and assemble them

This DSP from Stampin' Up! is so pretty!

All is right in our world

                          
                    

Rain! Buckets of rain

 

The past week or so we've had tolerable weather.  I wonder if the freezing temperatures are behind us?  No matter as it's a whole lot better here than in the north and mid west.  We've had some foggy starts the last few days and now a thunderstorm.  A heavy thunderstorm!  We lost electricity and internet.  I was typing when it happened and lost a paragraph...

Sonsearae goes to Disney World for her birthday and usually Chris goes too, but this year his job prevented it.  So we went along to help her celebrate. Have you been to Disney?  There are a lot of fabulous restaurants and we ate at several.  It's a foodies paradise and we all enjoyed our meals, perhaps to much.  We had dinner at Topolino's and the Character breakfast on the day we departed. Yak and Yeti for a quick Asian lunch one day and  Maya Grill and Jaleo were the two other fine dining experiences.  There is shopping inside the theme parks and at Disney Springs, an outdoor mall.  Sonsearae like to check out the Disney merchandise so we checked out quite a few stores.  She bought a Blouse at Tommy Bahama and Jim snagged a new jacket (Levi store) and two pair of shoes and leather wallet at a different store, the name escapes me . 

In no particular order I'll share some pictures.

On our last morning we went to a character breakfast (Topolino's) and got to see Donald and Daisy Duck along with Minnie and Mickey Mouse!  Here's the birthday girl with Artist Mickey

Have you seen the movie Moana?  There is a new exhibit that involves water that you walk through.  Beautiful, lush tropical foliage and flowers and this very big topiary of Moana 

Our first day we visited the Animal Kingdom and found these flamingos napping...I love flamingoes but I didn't have the heart to wake them for a photo op.  We went on the Kilimanjaro Safari and saw the African animals out in the open, roaming free.  The ride wasn't long enough!  We also saw the Festival of the Lion King.  Just magical!  The cast members put on a great show

Our second day we visited Epcot for the Festival of the Arts and enjoyed the art exhibits.  All around Epcot were foods from different countries and basically you could eat your way around the world!  

We had lunch at 

el Artista Hambriento, a Mexican food cart. We chose the Tostada de Langosta: chilled lobster with chipotle aioli, onions and mango on crispy tortillas with guacamole, shredded cabbage and hot sauce.  Very good! messy but we didn't make a big mess.  For out beverage we had a Rubi Delicioso Margarita: Tromba Blanco Tequila, Lejay Blackcurrent Liqueur, Citrus, mint, spicy agave and beet juice.  Very tasty and colorful

Our ride home was uneventful except Jim decided to eat Cheesits from the floor!

We have so much fun when we go to Disney World...but we are getting old! The walking is easy but it wore us out and it took several days to recover.  Happy I had leftovers to eat because cooking was the last thing on my mind!

                                   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 treasure

                                          Total for 2024

                                                    25

For this first set of cards I stamped my own background using wild wheat ink o wild wheat cardstock. The stamps I used were mostly from Quiet Meadow and I used the wheat stalk from Earthen Elegance.  Layered on Lemon Lolly cardstock...All Stampin' Up!

The next two pictures are together.  It's a fun fold!  A great way to see both sides of your pretty DSP.  This is Winter Meadow DSP on Blueberry cardstock from Stampin' Up!  I stamped a sprig on the circle 

When opened this is displayed

Fun cards using Dainty Flowers (ret)

Ink Smooshing is a technique I used to color the background of the white panel.   Saran Wrap wadded up and dabbed in ink, then onto the paper

All is right in our world

I am an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. 

Showing how to make quick and easy cards. 

To order a catalog

Follow me here or on Facebook:  Card making with Linda for more detailed instruction. 

To place an order, head over to my website to view the digital catalogs

Shop Here

Move to Florida They Said

 

Don't get me wrong!  I've loved Florida since the first time I saw it in 1967.  After boot camp my duty station was in Jacksonville, Florida.  I was born and raised in Michigan and I'm here to tell you that Florida is warmer.  But after the last two nights of below freezing temperatures we're ready to head back to South Texas....maybe Mexico!  Summers are Hotter than hades but we can just summer in San Antonio!

Has your weather been weird? Compare it to last year.  Is it colder? Wetter? More snow?

The campground has told us to let the water drip to prevent pipes from freezing up.  We're warm enough but both of us are loathe to leave the house.  Jim, bless his heart takes care of all the outside prevention and he hates the cold!

All of this is to remind you that even Florida has cold, nasty weather...and we don't like it!

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 treasure

                                          Total for 2024

                                                    13

Magical Meadows, Snowflake Sky embossing folder and a wee bit of sparkle with the navy and gold ribbon

Used a card sketch for these two cards. Delightful Floral DSP

Using up some of Golden Hour from Club Scrap

More Golden Hour with a side gate fold design

This car was for a challenge at Club Scrap using this template

Delightful Floral DSP, Go To Greetings

Sketch card using my pretty papers.  The flower is fussy cut

All is right in our world

             

 I am an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. 

Showing how to make quick and easy cards. 

To order a catalog

Follow me here or on Facebook:  Card making with Linda for more detailed instruction. 

To place an order, head over to my website to view the digital catalogs

Shop Here

Happy New Year

 All I can say is wow!

 I can't believe the productive year I had making cards.  Almost every day I use my supplies to make cards. It gives me joy and I'm pretty sure it lowers my blood pressure

We spent some time with Chris and Sonsearae yesterday. Between the two of them they keep us well fed.  Italian pot roast with meatballs and pepperoni.  The flavor was Benissimo!  Served over fettuccini and served with garlic bread and a beautiful salad.  For dessert we had an apple puff pastry concoction.  I'm sure it has a proper name.  The apples were sliced thinly and softened in the microwave.  All wrapped up in the pastry and baked.  Kind of like apple turnovers....yum.  Sangria was served

On Saturday Sonsearae and I had pedicures. It's always fun spending time with her.  Of course the pedicure is wonderful! My old feet like being pampered

We've had a few wintry days with temperatures dipping down to freezing a couple night.  Today it's pretty balmy out there.  Winds from the south make the 69 degrees feel pretty decent

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 treasure

                                          Total for 2023

                                                   737

These are from the December Paper Pumpkin Kit...Time to get ready for Spring!  Last set of cards for the year

All is right in our world

 I am an Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator. 

Showing how to make quick and easy cards. 

To order a catalog

Follow me here or on Facebook:  Card making with Linda for more detailed instruction. 

To place an order, head over to my website to view the digital catalogs

Shop Here