Sweet GOODness Swap

Sweet Goodness Swaps is hosting a swap between swap 'sisters' that started this month and continues through Christmas. I forgot to take pictures of my halloween swap to Paula but you can see it at her site. Paula of On a rainy nite made this wool bag with all the great appliques hand stitched on it. I use it when I go to physical therapy and put a magazine or my latest book in it. She also sent me some pretty halloween fabric, a black bat candy dish that is full of sweet treats, some cute scrapbooking halloween items that i made a card with and two bags of candy!!! My favorites: licorice and caramel goodies. The weekend we got this package we had company so the candy disappeared quite fast but was so yummy!
Our next swap is a holiday garland and gift tags. PSSST i will tell you a secret but dont tell paula I am working on those as well as finishing up her birthday gift for her oct birthday!!! that is a bcllgoekofoetewtkksgiiinppdse but don't let her know that!!!!!

Halloween GOODIES

Hi Everyone! I hope it is a fun halloween week for all. I have been keeping a low profile the last few weeks. I would be terribly remiss if I didn't pay tribute to my two new 'swap sisters.' the first is my halloween hat from Susan at Blackeyed Susan's Kitchen. Susan made this wonderful hat for me. "Izzie" has been wearing it out in the family room for the Halloween season.
Susan also made this darling little notebook that fits perfectly into my purse. I have been using it almost every day to jot notes, grocery lists whatever. Susan also sent a huge bag of candy corn and of course that disappeared soon after!!! Thank you so much Susan. I love my goodies and getting to know you!!!

YOU MAKE ME SMILE

I have been given this award:" You Make Me Smile" from Rachael at the rose room. Is that not COOL? It certainly made me smile! Thank you Rachael. The rules are to nominate ten wonderful friends that make me smile. So I have nominated the following special blogger friends who have always made me smile:
1. Mica @ Garboodles Soup
2. Molly @ Craft Happy Women
3. Lolly @Lollys Nest Egg
4. Sonia @ ccraftscollectibles
5. Cheryl @zanymad
6. Heidi @ the spiritual knitter
7. Susan @ Black eyed susan's kitchen
8. Paula @ on a rainy night
9. Anne @ reloves projects
10. Dolly @ mycherryheart
consider yourself 'awarded'

I have been TAGGED!

Rachael from the rose room so nicely tagged me while I was out of town and I don't want to ignore her! I am supposed to list 7 things about myself that are random and weird and so devastatingly interesting--------------
so here goes.

1. One of my favorite stories is that I "saw' John twice before I ever met him in person. The first time was at a movie. Six of us girls went to see Romeo and Juliet--we were all in Nursing school then.---- In walks 6 guys all together and dressed in black suits and ties. They sat two rows in front of us. Of course at intermission we all went out to flirt with them. No one asked any of us out. We told each other the story on a date and realized we were there together!!
a few months later in the dorm, a roommate got a phone call while she was in the bathtub. I answered for her and it was John telling her he was picking her up the next night for hamburgers. I asked who he was as she was engaged to somene else. She said we have been neighbors and friend s all of our lives.
the next night a few of us were leaving the dorm when john came to pick michelle up. We all said hi and left.

Over a year later I was at a night club and met John through another 'mutual' friend ..........................and it was true love. 36 yrs later it STILL is!

2.Once on a medical trip to Guatemala, we were in a small village hospital. We were using their surgery rooms for cleft lip and palate repairs and burn contracture releases. I was taking a break and walking around outside the recovery/surgery area and right next door was a lady crying. Her feet were up in stirrups and no one was in the room.
She was actually hemorrhaging into a bucket. her baby was in a basket near her crying away.
I talked to her to calm her down and then went and got one of our surgeons who was taking a break. He came in to examine her and ended up cauterizing a bleeder and then packed her uterus. I stayed with her and got to hold her baby--she was so scared and it was her third baby.
Later that evening we were still there working and a nurse from the ob unit came to ask for "ANNA" The mother asked me my two names and they called us all by our middle names.
They took me to visit the momma and her family-- parents,, husband, children, sisters etc. Then they named the baby after me! Her first name was gabriella after her mother then Anna catalina after me!
I was so humbled and touched. The father handed gabriella anna catalina to me and then gestured around the entire group of family and said. "We honor you by giving our daughter your name. You saved her mother, my wife, their daughter and sister. We will always remember you and tell the story so when ANNA grows up she will tell the story to her children."
I can't tell you how emotional that was for me. I cried and thanked them with all my heart to honor me in such a way. Anna would now wbe 22 years old!!

3.Whenever I am very stressed or have increased pain levels I have to tear my studio apart and reorganize everything. John also notices that I have an increased appetite for junk food at these times.

4. i AM a swapoholic, garage sale aholic, thrift store aholic. It has been four days since my last "fix."

5. I LOVE kids. so does John. We have neighbor kids and our kids' friends that have grown up and started their own families and they still come to visit. Neighbor kids siblings come now. I love visiting with them and we always have treats on hand. One teenager comes once every few weeks to visit and eats dinner with us.

6. I love color and funky decorating. I want our home to reflect 'us' and not every other house that is built like this. We have a very funky bathroom with glass hands and vintage medical signs

7. I was a majorette in jr high and high school and recently my mother gave me one of my old batons. I can STILL twirl them and throw then in the air and catch them in all different positions! WOO HOO What I cannot Do is fit into my old high school uniform!! At football games I twirled fire batons every year til I graduated. I actually fried my hair a few times.
ta da there you are 7 most fascintating and interesting facts about ME.

I waited so long to answer and post I am going to not pass this on but it was fun thinking about things I could talk about!!! thanks Rose!!!!




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YEAH VINTAGE BOOK SWAP!

Finally i was able to upload pictures. My swap partner in the Vintage Children's Book swap was Heidi Schlumpf from the Spirtual Knitter.
I so enjoyed getting to know Heidi. What a sweetheart. She really outdid herself.
here she sent me a bag of vintage fabrics that are very nice. I can't wait to use them in some upcoming projects. I am slowly building up my stash!

this is avintage cookbook that i really like. John and I are both into cooking and used to have tons of old cookbooks. This is a special addition to our cooking.
Heidi is an editor for a catholic magazine and sent all of these extra books for me. Some address chronic pain and health issues and I have already read all of them. There is always so much one can learn in any situation. Heidi I appreciate these thoughtful books more than you will ever know. Thank you.

this is my favorite item in the swap. The homemade book mark. Heidi made. She hand felts old sweaters into beautiful felted wool. This is so pretty. She added leaves of autumn colors and it is so special. It is already being well used in my current book. If you want to see more felted projects you can go to her website.
the first vintage children's book is Richard Scary's Counting Book. Our oldest daughter Sarah was home when the package arrived and she remembered it being one of their favorite books
The next one is the Big Big Story Book. I love the illustrations and stories in this one.
The last one is a beach book. All of our grand daughters are very close to Oceans and spend alot of time there so this book is very special. They collect shells and swim and watch sea life etc.

Heidi is a great swapper and an even nicer person. Thank You Heidi for all of your thoughtfulness!!

Frustrated B logger here

hi everyone
We were gone for five days to the coast to see the kids and two of our grand daughters. Now I get back and want to post pictures to my blog and for three days it keeps giving me messages that they are unable to do so and are working on the problem.
Is anyone else having problems with this?

I received my vintage book swap gifts from Heidi and want to post all the delicious gifts she sent!!!!

New Kid On The Block!

meet the newest addition to the family!

I left t0 run errands on monday and saw a car parked by the driveway.
I thought it might be workman's comp scoping me out but they didn't follow me so I forgot about it. The road ends at our driveway.

I got home a few hours later ..................and huddled in a sleeping pile in the middle of the lawn.............. were five little kittens!!! soooo adorable. I should have taken a picture of them.

I took them to the pet store and begged them to take them as I knew john would die if we got stuck with FIVE cats. They didn't want to take them but one guy decided to see if they would eat food and use the litter box.

After an anxious few minutes he said it was fine...BUT they only had room for four of them and that was pushing it. I thought okay one is better than FIVE right?

So I asked if there were any girls. They said nope.................. boy boy boy boy................ oops girl.

I called sydne bean our 4 yr old grand daughter to let her have the honor of naming her. She said "Oma you now have a new daughter---a kitty daughter."
Recently she has been naming and renaming her dolls and toys Anna.

her mommy was perplexed as they don't know any Annas.

She asked Sydne "Honey who's Anna?'

"That's her mommy. You know the one we sing about in church.

whose anna whose anna."

When we asked her to sing the song for us she said," I can only sing about Anna. I don't know the other kids' names."

Isn't that precious? I love all the little stories and things they all tell us.

Of course the new kitty's name is ANNA.

My baby Callie is so mad at us. She even bit me when I went to pet her one morning.

Anna is glued to me every minute I am still. Callie continues to hiss and growl at her but last night she was actually chasing her around in play.

Two minutes later she was growling again, but that is progress.

John is such a honey bear around the kitten. He was so relieved when I told him we only had to keep one.----------smiling here.

I now have another little 'baby' to watch over and keep me company when I am here alone.

I have become such a pet advocate for anyone who is alone or ill. They bring companionship and comfort as well as giving one something to focus on.

If you know anyone who is alone or chronically ill consider getting them a small pet to love. It could add so much to their lives.

When I was still working as a nurse, we had pet therapy for the kids.

No matter how ill the kids were, they wanted those dogs to be next to them. Some were too ill to do anything but lay in bed, but even when the dog was lying next to them, they would pet them and smile.

I think the nurses looked forward to them coming as much as the kids and parents did.

Just having one of my 'babies' sleeping on or near me makes any kind of day that much better.

I hope you all have special pets in your lives, no matter how they arrive.

20 QUESTIONS FOR HOLIDAY SISTER SWAP!

I joined the sweet sister holiday swap at sweet goodness swaps and my swap sister is Paula over @on a rainy night. I am really looking forward to meeting another new friend and 'sister' of the heart. I can't tell you how many wonderful friends I have made on here so far. It means so much to me. To help our new 'sisters' get to know us, we are to answer the following 20 questions on our blogs.

1.What's your Favorite color?: pink and red, purples/lavendar

2. What kind of chocolate lover? :not really a chocolate person ...prefer carmel or licorice any day
3. your favorite craft or hobby?: collage


4.a craft/art hobby you would like to start: i do and have done so many I have no idea-you can surprise me.


5. What is one craft you have No interest in?: knitting or crocheting.


6. Do you have any allergies?(we don't want to send anything with peanuts if it will make you blow up like a ballon)? just hay fever


7. What's your favorite part of halloween? decorating, candy eating ,costumes or something else?: I love decorating but most of all i love seeing all the little kids in their costumes coming to our door.

8. Do you decorate for thanksgivng/fall? YES i love decorating for anything!


9.December holidays-what do you celebrate and what type of decorationd do you like to put up for that holiday?


I celebrate Christmas. I love victorian ornaments and decorating like feather trees etc. I also use traditional decorating. I have a very large collection of nut crackers.


10. Do you have any children and sex and ages? Ryan is 32 married to Lehua and 22 month Nai'a. Sarah is 31 and is engaged to another ryan.
Bethany is 29 married to Bryce, they have 4 yr old sydne bean and 8 month old Lauryn. Brianna is 27 and married to jason. They have 5 yr old Nakiah and 2 yr old Tovi joi.


11. Do you have any pets? We have two cats-one a calico Callie and a new tabby baby named Anna.


12. Are you a reader and if so what type of books do you read?: I am an avid reader. I love mysteries and anything that is not a harlequin romance book.


13. Are you celebrating a birthday, anniversary in Oct. Nov or Dec?


yes my birthday is Dec 23. I have two sibs with birthdays the same week and my sis in law has the same bd as I do.


14. Do you collect anything? If so what type of things do you collect?


I collect heart shape anything( including rocks), victorian emphemera, vintage linens, buttons, old advertising and medical stuff as well as vintage milllnery.


15. what type of things do you like to cook? are you an appetizer person, cookie maker or take out person? I would much rather cook and create in the kitchen than take out.........................but of course that is always a nice treat! I enjoy either appetizers or baking.


16. What is your favorite scent? is there any you can't stand? I wear Madelline de Madelline that is a european fragrance. I do wear others and prefer light fragrances. Can't think of any I wouldn't wear.


17. What's your favorite song? I hope you dance by LeeAnn Womack.


18. What's the last movie you went to at the movie theatre? The 3:10 to Yuma. It is a remake of a 50's western and very very good.


19. what's your favorite candy? Caramel or licorice!!


20. Tea or coffee or other? I love flavored coffees and also flavored teas but drink more coffee.

I hope this helps Paula!

This has been so long in posting! A week ago I spilled a glass of pepsi on my laptop keyboard!!!!!EEK i tried to drain the pop off right away and then dried it with a blow dryer.

BUT you guessed it--the STICKY mess that has ensued. I have cleaned and cleaned around the keys and they are much better but it is very hard to type on them still. I called the Geek Squad" and am very lucky to not have 'fried' my entire computer. I have to order a new keyboard and 'well' that it sits in. I will ask for the old keyboard and then i can craft with the old keys!!

I am unable to make it downstairs to use the main computer because my knees are too swollen/painful and slidng up and down the stairs takes the use of my wrists/hands that are in the same condition lately.

They are much better than they have been and am finally getting caught up with all my swaps. Everything we make of course uses our hands and dexterity!!

For those of you who have been so supportive with prayers and kind thoughts and just your support for my transition to the walker THANK YOU!! I have been out to the mall with john, the fabric store, the grocery store, michaels, etc. It is much easier this week. A dear friend said "No one cares about the walker...you notice it more than anyone else...we just want you to be safe and not hurt from falling," Thank you Shannon.

She is right. I just had to grieve the status change and get on with life!