Time to create ........ and be an OUTLAW !

 I haven't had time to play much this summer ( though the weather sure didn't feel like SUMMER ! ) and we are heading out yet again for a few days to visit family . The holiday will consist of visiting my parents and celebrating their 60 years of marriage ! What a feat that is in today's society but they have also given their kids the same longevity of marriage as both my sister and I have " stuck with " the same husband through thick and thin .... my sister and husband have been married 40 years and my husband and I going on 38 years ! The holiday will also be a celebration of birthdays as my sister has a birthday while we are there ( and I wouldn't tell you how OLD she is even though she IS the oldest ! LOL ! ) and my brother has a birthday just after we leave !

 I decided it was time I became an OUTLAW again and try do at least one of their challenges ! I will be back in full force by October . My family may tell you I am not and OUTLAW but more of a rebel in my later years ! Teehee ! I am THRILLED to be able to add my card to the Monday card challenge over on THE OUTLAWS . The Monday challenge can be found HERE . The card is for my sister's birthday and the sentiment says DISCOVER .

I had a lot of fun making this card and hope she likes it ! It is colored with Copic markers and the magnifying glass has Glossy Accents on it ! Lots of " stash  stuff " used on this Magnolia Tilda and paper from Magnolia !

TFL and have a great week !

Crocheted Creations and a couple of cards

  A few years ago I injured my rotator cuff ( shoulder ) and was having trouble sitting crocheting ( another love of mine ! ) for any length of time . Needless to say , the yarns got tucked away as did the crochet hooks . About 2 years ago I dug them out and a few of my books ( I have a HUGE Rubbermaid tote of these from small crocheted ornaments to large afghans ! There is nothing I wouldn't tackle ..... unless it had mofits which I DETEST doing ! LOL ! ) .Unfortunately I dug them out about the same time as I was doing some ordered Christmas cards that required a LOT of small circle punches ( the cards were beautiful ) ............... to make a long painful story short ...... I pulled the ligaments and tendons in my right thumb ! Yse it looked like I had a broked thumb for WEEKS with it's weird hang and " click " every time I moved it !!! Well the gist is it took a GOOD 2 years to get my thumb back to almost normal ! It is amazing what you use your thumb for !!!!!  About 6 weeks ago , I dug out my crochet hooks and small bucket of yarn ( which keeps growing in amount..... use up one ball by 2 more to replace  ! LOL ) . It thrilled me to be able to grip my hook and my ball of yarn and just mindlessly whip up something . I have discovered I LOVE to crochet while we travel as the miles just go by quickly ..... and I can watch the scenery and crochet as I can multi-task quite easily ( well unless DH asks me to do something I don't want to then I suddenly couldn't possible multi-task ! )

 I have whipped up a number of baby / toddler afghans in the 6 weeks I have held my hook !

I was looking at my stack of baby / toddler afghans this afternnon wondering WHAT I was going to do with them so I took some photos and threw them on my FaceBook and said FOR SALE ! Within 5 minutes I had a friend phone and tell me she would buy the blue / white afghan ! Woo Hoo !!!! So if anybody is interested in any of these just let me know as they are ALL for sale and I will probably have a few more before long ! Camping season isn't over yet ! LOL !

 I haven't just been sitting crocheting this past week . I have had to make a few cards ( and have a few more to do before next weekend ! )

 This card is for a friend's daughter who is getting married this weekend . I had a lot of fun playing with this one and I hope they like it !

 And this card is for my parents anniversary on August 31 ....... They will have been married 60 years !!!!! Mom told me not long ago that she loves my cards but miss my " flowery " cards though loves my little girl ( Magnolias ) cards too . So after much thinking I decided to go very plain on the outside and use just a mini Tilda on the inside ! We are heading down to see my parents next weekend so it will be a hand delivered " special delivery " . By request , their anniversary will be low key as all they asked for is their 3 kids to sit at the same table for supper ( with their spouses and a few of their kids and grandkids - though none of mine will be there .... as usual ! )

Oh and before I forget , my furry kids want to say HI

 My dog / house sitter took this ! I don't know how she managed to get them all together but it must have been fun because they never cooperate and sit together ! LOL !

Have a great weekend everybody !

Spread your wings

The robins have spread their wings and gone leaving an empty nest and the wonder of Nature in my heart . Our neighbour grew his wings today and is at peace . His widow is strong and will be starting her new life with the help of family and friends . It could be said she is growing her own set of wings as she starts a new journey in her life  . So the next thunderstorm we hear will be the newest angel driving a big machine moving mountains of clouds . He is in his glory !

R.I.P. Ron . You will be missed Handsome Guy of the neighbourhood . Hugs to you Judy and know he is watching you and saying " You Go Girl " ! 

A smile for all of you !

 Our summer has been dismal to say the least but the past 4 days has brought sunshine which has brought everybody a smile ! Our neighbour has rallied for a few days as his boys came up to see him . Amazing what the power of love can do ..... and a set of Mustang car keys can do ! One of the boys ( okay he is still their boy even though he is 40 ! ) dropped his Mustang keys into Handsome Man's hands when he became aggitated and suddenly a huge smile came across his face as he lovingly rubbed the keys . You see Handsome Man is a trucker from way back when and anything that represents anything that has wheels on it makes him happy ! One day soon Handsome Man will be driving the BIGGEST and Prettiest truck through those Pearly Gates and will have his own special lineup of fancy cars to race from cloud to cloud .... and he will be happy and at peace .

 We also have our own little smile in our lilac bush which is right beside our deck .... in the form of 3 little robins ! Daddy and Momma Robin have not been too worried about us being there as they fly in and out of our tree with bugs , worms and moths to feed these little guys . Every day they grow bigger and bigger and it wouldn't be long before they have spread their wings and gone . By the way , this is the third year Momma has used this nest ! Talk about recycling ! LOL ! In the early spring she was cleaning it but then the rain came and she diasapeared . Imagine our surprise to see she had laid eggs later on !

 Just a few days old .... beginning of August , balls of fuzz

 Small nest and a strange pillow

 The nest from the ground

 3 little baby robins

 Feed us ! These little guys are always hungry ! aug 9th , they have grown feathers and are getting their colors . Wouldn't be long before they are flying in the wild blue yonder !

  It can be said that humans and birds are a lot  alike  ....... We all need our wings so we can fly ...... or maybe some of us would rather have MUSTANG keys ! Love you Ronnie and hope that you get the best set of wings and that Mustang !




August 11 ........ baby robin #1 flew out of the nest this afternoon  and by evening they had all flown out of it . They didn't go far ... just across my yard to the retaining wall and 2 made it into the trees . Papa and Momma Robin were watching the whole time ......... One little robin is still trying to figure out how to get up the wall as he landed on the grass . I will have to keep the dogs in until I find out whether he figured out how to get up there .........

Struggling !!!!!

  We are going on the second week of August already and the weather has been struggling to bring us some sun shine . July brought so much rain that rivers have flooded , creeks that are usually dry right now are still high and there is still snow in some of the mountains ! It is crazy ! today we have been blessed with some sun and some heat which is awesome ! I should be down at the RV and relaxing but unfortunately I had a lot to do this week so had to come home after spending the weekend down at the campground ..... in the rain and cooler weather !

 This week I have a stack of cards I have to get done before the end of the month . I am struggling with all of them ! Just not in the creative mood ..... too much going on that has my mind in a jumble .One of our neighbours is fighting to live just one more day and will leave a young widow ( anybody under 100 is young to lose a spouse ! ) and every time I have the phone ring I wonder if that will be THE call . So sad as the BIG C is claiming another young man of 60 . Only 3 years ago we lost my husband's brother at the same age to this terrible disease . DH has been down with another flare-up and I wonder how much is brought on by memories of losing his brother ...... and watching our neighbour slowly slip away .

 One good thing I have managed to do in the past month is pick up a crochet hook and do a few things that will eventually end up in my ETSY shop . I haven't crocheted in over 4 years ( because of shoulder problems then my thumb )  so it has been so relaxing to just sit and mindlessly keep busy ! Stay tuned for photos once I get threads sewn in and photos taken . I am not re-opening my ETSY shop until September at the earliest though as we wouldn't be around much with being at the RV . I would rather stay " closed " then not be able to fill an order as soon as it comes in .

This little duck came to visit when we were at the campground on Dragon Lake in Quesnel , BC . I think he thought he should come for tea ! And the lake was calm the evening we camped there ! Pretty lake and nice that we got to visit 3 of our grandkids for a day !


Enjoy your week everybody and remember to give your loved ones a hug ................