Some stuff to share

The "chatting" part of the post can wait til tonight, but here's some of the work I did this weekend. The cards are simple- my style, I just cannot seem to do the fancy stuff. The pictures scanned from the album are a little crooked, but you get the idea. The album is DH's Valentine's present- a whole collection of me and us on various trips and vacations. Shush- don't tell him! This card was my first try at misting. I used my LePlume pens and then misted- I really like how it came out.

I made this card with one of my favorite stamps- Cornish Heritage Farms Trees backgrounder. I really LOVE this stamp- it is versatile and beautiful.

This is a picture of us in Florida last June. The album is a kit from Creative Memories- it was a special last Valentine's Day. I bought it at least year's weekend intending to use it for something for DH but just got around to making it this weekend.

Here are a few more pages from the album:

Here are the formal night portrait from our cruise to Bermuda last summer, dessert at the Luau at Disney World a couple years ago, and me being a "groupie"- sung to in the audience at a show on the cruise by the wonderful Moses Taroy!

I'll tell all about the scrappy weekend later!

Way late on Sunday night

With the holiday tomorrow, I'll post then. I've got some new cards to share and an album to scan a few pages of.

Just wanted to share my new, royal title!

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Entirely Miss Reverend Lady Teresa the Intractable of Yetts O'Muckhart Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Crafty Weekend!!!

Just a quick post. It is WAY past my bedtime, but there was SOOOO much to do tonight- and I got it all done!

My report for school is complete and I am satisfied with it. We'll see how it goes. Explanations later.

My exams are all written, printed and ready to go to the copy room. That took hours tonight, but it is DONE- which makes me feel much free-er this weekend.

My crafty stuff is packed- DH just shakes his head over the amount of stuff I *MUST* have. My suitcase- the smallest bag for the trip, lol- is packed and ready to go. I think I have everything.

So, tomorrow as soon as school is over, I am off to Lancaster with a group of crafting friends for a girls' weekend!!!!! There will be scrapbooking, cardmaking, stamping, maybe even a little quilting- I put a Hawaiian quilt top I've been working on forever in just in case I need a change of pace. We'll eat a lot, do some shopping, have a few margaritas, and laugh the whole weekend. I will come home completely exhausted and feeling better than I have since Florida!

Maybe, finally, even with something to show off! I should be able to finish, say, at least ONE card this weekend, right?

Oh, and I am making a small scrapbook for DH for Valentine's Day. Shush- don't tell! ;)

One more thing- I got a wonderful surprise from Suzanne but I cannot respond to it properly this late at night- so that's for next time!

Sunday Evening

Seems like I always find time to do this on Sunday evenings. Must be a wind-down before the wind-up kind of thing. Whatever!

So, on to all the news- or at least enough to fill a blog post.

The Silhouette is wonderful!!!!! I have barely used it- that will come next weekend- but it is obvious that it can do so many things. I am quite excited about the possibilities. Here is a picture of my first cut-out:


It's just a snowflake or whatever but it is about 6 1/2 inches across and there is no way I could EVER do this without this great toy! It finished in about a minute. I still have to play with the text function- it can cut out anything I print on my computer screen! This is gonna be GREAT!!!!

I will be leaving right from school Friday afternoon to go on my scrapbooking/cardmaking/crafty weekend. The Silhouette will definitely be going along!


I will be taking on a new job at school in addition to my regular teaching load. It seems probable that there will be little time for crafting- or sleeping, for that matter!- for the rest of the year. I don't really want to do it, but it needs to be done, and done right, and I know how to do it, so.....that's that. As for my word of the year about this, I am seeking to remind myself of this question: Will the students be better off if I don't do this? No.

Lots of news from the African webcams, sites and blogs. The Mapogo have established themselves as the dominant pride in the Djuma area. Friday night into Saturday morning those watching the Djuma cams heard much noise of lions roaring and apparently fighting. Daylight brought the news that they had found the Nhuhuma pride and killed at least one cub. The fight occurred over a giraffe kill that the Nkuhuma females had made to feed their cubs. The Mapogo have been staying close to the carcass ever since, and, as a result, there have been many viewings of them on the webcam. The guide on the drives during this time was a young man named Pieter, who did a marvelous job of understanding that those not from the bush would be upset about the death of the young cub, but explained in detail the lifestyle of lions and how this sadness would lead soon to new cubs, with the Mapogo as fathers. The exceptional strength of the Mapogo would result in cubs with strong gene lines, and the strength of the coalition would mean security for the cubs to grow up. Names are starting to be used to distinguish these lions and this one- check out the mohawk!- has been nicknamed Mr. T! Pieter has named the largest of the Mapogo "Shaka" after the great Zulu leader. I will try to get a good picture of him to post- he really is magnificent.

Snow is on the way! That can be good news or bad news. If the schools are open, then one hopes for very little- I don't relish driving on the stuff. However, a teacher's (and kid's) dream is LOTS of snow on a Sunday night- that extra long weekend is always nice. So, here's hoping for either 1 inch or 6!

Any Jane Austen fans out there? The BBC has produced "The Complete Jane Austen" which starts tonight with Persuasion. Persuasion is my most favorite Jane Austen book, excepting, of course, Pride and Prejudice. This Persuasion will need to be good to make me think it better than the 1995 movie version starring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds, which was marvelous. The series will run Sunday nights on Masterpiece Theatre (PBS) from now through April. Most of the productions are new ones; the BIG exception is the incredible P&P done in 1995 with Colin Firth and Elizabeth Ehle- most Janites' definitive version. You know where I will be every Sunday night for many weeks to come.

Time to go lay out my clothes for school tomorrow, just in case. Flylady's teachings on that have totally ingrained in me- I cannot go to bed unless everything is ready for the morning.

Here's hoping for lots of snow!!!

YIPPEE!!!!

Quick post- I *HAVE* to get to bed!

The Silhouette is opened and all set up and after two disastrous attempts, IT WORKS GREAT!!!!

This is the best toy ever!!!!!!!!!!!

Will post pictures soon.

A crafter horror story

My crafty friends and readers out there will find this truly not only horrifying but incomprehensible!

I had a really bad day at school today- the kids were fine, it's the grownups who make me crazy- and I came home from school, finally, a little more than 2 hours ago. Exhausted, befuddled, totally fried!

Awaiting me was a largish box from QVC- my Silhouette electronic die cutter!!!!

And how many things have I cut out so far? Or even, where is this wonderful gadget?

Would you believe it is still sitting in front of the sofa in its QVC box, unopened?

With that information, no description of my school day is necessary- all crafters understand.

Just a few odds and ends

This is a picture of one of the Mapogo males. After their original attack on one of the Nkuhuma males, that I wrote about several weeks ago, they left the Djuma area for a while. They have returned and are now being seen on a regular basis. They are very large and dangerous lions and are causing many problems in the area. One of the Africam websites has referred to them as "thugs" on their blog. Other lions are being forced out of the reserve areas by this vicious group. Some of the lions forced towards rural populated areas are now killing cattle to survive, since their usual hunting grounds have become too unsafe. This trip the Mapogo are not traveling alone but have a group of females and cubs with them. I have seen pictures of the lionesses and cubs, but have not seen them "live" on a game drive. I was lucky enough to be on the drive the first time they were seen recently. All lions are potentially scary; this group is truly frightening.

After some thought, and with encouragement from several blogger-friends, I am going to do some thoughtful work on the word of the year idea, and I am going to stick with my initial reaction that my word should be "no". I need to learn to be better able to say no when it is in my best interests to do so. I also need to say no to myself when I am being lazy or extravagant. I need to say no to bad habits. I know that it is supposed to be better when you work at something by thinking "I'm going to try to be better at...." but that does not always work for me. So, for a while at least, I am instead going to approach things with a different direction. I want to look at things as "will I accept........" or "will I allow......." and the answer is going to be NO. Will I accept being behind in my school work? NO! Will I allow the house to get as bad as it was in the fall? NO! Things like that. Saying NO is going to be a positive thing with positive results.

So, tonight's affirmative negative is this: will I carry that extra heavy bag to school tomorrow because I didn't get around to cleaning it out? NO!

So, I'm off to clean out my school bag!

An interesting idea

This will, I hope, be a short post- I should have been in bed a long time ago.

On Kerianne's blog this week she talks about something she found on Ali Edward's blog. It is all about choosing a word for the year. You can read Ali's blog here and Kerianne's here.

The first word that popped into my head was "no". I am going to think about it a little before I commit to it, but it is not just a negative- it can be a rejection of negative things, leading to a positive. Ok- I'm tired and I'm probably babbling. So, I'll post more later. But, I really am going to think about it.

Right now I am going to say NO more goofing off and go to sleep.

Happy New Year!

A little late, but Happy New Year! 2008 is off to a NOT-terrific start, but hopefully that means it will just keep getting better.

Lots has been happening and lots coming up. I got sicker in Florida, started to get better, flew home (there's a reason they say you should never fly with a cold, but what can you do?), got sicker again, had a BAD day at the dentist and ended up home sick from school yesterday. The cold is abating, S-L-O-W-L-Y.

I've spent a little time getting some of my stamps cut and mounted, so I am feeling craftily successful- it doesn't take much for me. I've ordered the Silhouette electronic die cutter and cannot wait for that to arrive. QVC had it, with paper, with a $200 download card included and on easy pay- how could I NOT?

I've mostly been sleeping for a week with time out to teach school on Wednesday and Thursday- although my zombie-like condition didn't exactly lead to dynamic teaching. But we got through the work and I think most of the kids got it, so that's good for now. I will WOW them next week when I (hopefully!!!) feel better.

In two weeks I go on my annual winter crafting vacation/retreat/girl's weekend with some of my Flybaby friends. They are always SOOOO much fun. I am really looking forward to it. Before then the Physics kids will have done their research project presentations, and I will try to get my finals written, so that I can really relax.

Now for the real "work" part of this post. Suzanne has TAGGED me. I share her love of stamping and quilting and after reading her blog answers when she was tagged, we have a lot more in common. Here's the assignment:

You've been tagged:
The rules of the game:
• Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, we all want to know them.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Seven random or weird facts, huh? And you only want seven? OK, here goes:

My education history has been a total blessing. I went to a girls' private school that was in transition from somewhat of a finishing school to a really serious academic prep school; the result is that I got a great education while also taking classes in how to walk in an evening gown, go down steps without lowering my chin etc. This time also included a long summer semester at Catholic University where I attended their Journalism Institute, a forever gift of writing skills. I spent my sophomore year of college at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, a totally incredible experience. Really LIVING in a foreign country, doing normal everyday things is a life lesson of immense value.

I totally do not believe in the zodiac, or the influence of the planets or any of that. Yet, I am a Pisces and am emotionally tied to water. I NEED to spend time near water. Living at the shore every summer most of my life has been a major influence on me.

I did not start out, or ever intend, to be a teacher. When I retired from Optometry for medical reasons, I didn't know if I'd ever work again. Five years later, when a friend of mine, who was the science department chair at the local high school told me he was desperate for a sub, I told him I'd "come in and help out for a few days until he found a 'real' teacher". And the rest, as they say, is history.

I spent five years incapacitated due to Fibromyalgia and arthritis. Much of the first two years were spent in bed. Thanks to a WONDERFUL group of doctors, who believed that I really was sick and wanted to help me get better, I did. Even greater, nay ETERNAL, thanks to a most loving husband who supported and encouraged me through a terrible time and always believed I'd get better and helped me to do so.

Like Suzanne, I am a total Disney freak!!! I love WDW, I love Disney movies, I love Disney character clothes, I love having Disney stuff around me.

I am a worst-case example of what Flylady is all about. I mix a bizarre combination of OCD and total slob. Everything that is in the drawers, cabinets, etc in my house has to be EXACTLY where it is supposed to be, but the house itself can be total chaos and I barely notice. I am a perfect, perfectionist SHE.

I read voraciously during the summer and vacations and my two favorite authors are Jane Austen and Rex Stout. Interesting, because Stout's favorite author was Jane Austen, while he became famous for writing murder mysteries. BTW- if you have not tried the Nero Wolfe books, you are REALLY missing something special.

Now comes the tagging part- which will be the hardest, since you guys have all already tagged each other so much! Let's see:

Jen
Jamie
Lori
Cathy

OK- I am going to cheat and list only four. These are the only SCSers left that I link to on my blog. So, that's all, folks!

I really enjoy reading all the blogs that I have linked on my page. I don't have a lot- just a select few I really appreciate. So, check out my tagged ones, and all those listed on the sidebar- I think you'll have a good time reading.

Well, this post is going to be longer than the rest of the whole blog, so, TIME TO GO!

Hello from Tampa

Greetings from Florida!

Things here are going wonderfully! We had a rocky start- our 5:30 flight was late and we only had 8 minutes to make our connection in Charlotte. We made the plane but our luggage did not. :(

I finally got into the spa around 10 last night- from now on the bathing suit goes in the carry-on! Before that we went shopping with Auntie, John took a long walk, I read a book and started a second one, our luggage finally arrived about 6PM, we went to Applebies for dinner and Auntie and I each had two "perfect margaritas"!

Today it is 84 degrees, the sun is shining and we have spent lots of time in the spa while I finished book #2 and started #3. Only those of us who live in northern climes can appreciate the wonderfulness of reading a book at midnight- ourdoors!

Having a great time with Auntie- she is such a joy to be with. At 83 she looks so much younger and her attitude and zest for life are very young and ageless.

Time to get back in the spa and my book is waiting. Oh, btw, I still have my bad cold- but in this setting, who cares?

On the 3rd Day of Christmas.....

I am still sick! Yuck!

I started with a cold Christmas Eve afternoon, and even though I have done tons of liquids, lots of Comtrex and slept WAY more than normal I am still feeling BLAH! This stinks!

In spite of this, with what time I have felt up to doing anything, it has been a mostly good holiday so far. Christmas Eve Mom and I went to my aunt's for lunch and had a wonderful time. Since then my uncle has been taken to the hospital, which is very unhappy news. He is my favorite uncle- he was a professional musician, a pianist, and he always encouraged me in my music. He has been failing for several years, and this is just more of the same, but it is always scary when he has a bad spell. They hope he will be coming home today or tomorrow, which is the good news of this event.

Christmas Eve evening (after a LONG nap) we decorated the tree as always. My son LOVES Christmas, and is very tradition bound. We had a fun evening of tree trimming and movie watching.

Christmas Day consisted of present opening- my DH and DS were MOST generous!!!!- followed by our traditional brunch of eggs, sausage and home made cinnamon rolls. Then I took a long nap til it was time to cook dinner. I made it through dinner, but the rest were still at the table when I just had to go to bed.

Slept 12 hours straight. Didn't feel any better- seems unfair, somehow!

On the 2nd Day of Christmas, I was a total slug. Rested, watched TV, played on the computer.

Today is the 3rd Day of Christmas. In spite of waking up STILL being sick, it has been a very good day so far. If you've been reading here you know I like to watch the African webcams, especially the one at WildEarth/Djuma. My post from December 10th tells the story of the killing of one of the Djuma lions from the Nkuhuma pride. At the time it was thought to be Dozie; later we learned that it was Blondie who was killed. Here is a picture of the magnificent Blondie:



This morning's drive turned out to be a combination of frustration and exhilaration. The link was bad- there has been a lot of rain in the Djuma area and that seems to affect transmission- and both the live view and the sound were interrupted regularly. The amazing part was that we finally saw, LIVE, two of the Mapogo males- the renegade lions who are threatening the prides throughout this area of Southern Africa. They are enormous and magnificent, but they even LOOK evil and carry themselves with a disdain that is visible. The LandRovers were able to get right up next to them and take amazing video- they completely ignored the human presence the whole time. This is a good news/bad news scenario. We get to see these incredible animals close up because they are again roaming in the Djuma reserve. However, the fear for the females and the cubs of the Nkuhuma pride dampens this enjoyment. The last report of the Nkuhuma survivors was that they were scattered in an area north of Djuma and we all hope that they are far away and safe from the ravages that will occur if the Mapogo find them.

Tomorrow DH and I fly to Tampa to visit our aunt there for New Year's- a tradition of 12 years. I always enjoy the break from the cold weather- I know, if I can survive a flight with a cold, all my other ailments will feel better almost as soon as I get off the plane. We are looking forward to several days of sitting on the lanai reading, soaking in the spa, and having a great time with Auntie. The only downside is that DH saved a lot of money on the airfare by booking us on a flight that takes off at 5:30AM!!!!!! Not much sleep for us tonight- we need to arrive at the airport at 4AM!

So, I am off to dig out summer clothes- the forecast is around 80° the whole time we are there- yippee!!!- and get organized and packed.

A Merry Christmas season and a Happy New Year to all!

Merry Christmas, and God bless us, everyone!

Happy News!

We finished the Christmas card sale a day early- because we sold all the cards!

The kids' cards just keep getting better!

The only purpose of this post is to show off more of the cards made by my students in the school craft club. They've made approximately 100 cards and have sold 60 of them in the first 2 days they are on sale. I am so impressed at how quickly they have learned and how much their styles have grown in just a couple of weeks. I wish I had the time to scan all of them, but here are some examples:

I am so proud of these kids. They worked really hard on these and, if we sell them all, will have raised $200 for the school's Appalachia Project. I told them if we had any cards left unsold, they could use them themselves and they all said "oh, we'll pay for them- it's for Appalachia."

So, as much as I may not like the people I work FOR, I LOVE the kids I teach!

And yet another Sunday evening post

Time to start focusing on the week ahead. I have a whole pile of stuff in the sunporch that needs to go into my car for tomorrow. I need to get clothes ready for school, and make sure my bag is complete.

It's been a crazy, scattered weekend. Yesterday was spent going to my brother's house at the shore to close it up for the heart of winter. We needed to bring a few things home, but the big job was shutting everything down, draining all the pipes and filling all the water sites in the house with antifreeze. Driving down, doing everything and driving back in the same day is hard work.

Today I had such plans for Christmas. I got a lot done today, but most of it was not on my list this morning, and none of it had much to do with Christmas. Meanwhile, Christmas is inexorably moving closer all the time.

I have lived my whole life with my body clock registering school years rather than calendar years. My Dad was a professor and I married a teacher, long before I was a teacher. So, for us, the "New Year" starts every September and Christmas to New Years is the long winter break. Nevertheless, I still have the habit of reflecting at this time of year- from Thanksgiving through Christmas about my many gifts and blessings, and as New Year's approaches about what I want/need to do to be a better person and live a better life. This year I guess I am starting early with the New Year's thinking.

"The expression "elephant in the room" refers to a situation where something major is going on, it's on everyone's mind and impossible to ignore -- like an elephant in the room. But nobody talks about the "elephant" because nobody knows what to do about it."(www.phrases.org)

That's how I feel about my work right now.

OK- this is getting depressing. I am still only part way through making my Christmas cards, so that better get done so I can actually MAIL them. When I start with a new one, I'll post a picture.

8 days til Christmas!

Cold, rainy Thursday

My progress reports disc is done and submitted, so I am relaxing for a few hours, and find myself in a silly mood. So, here's a little pre-Christmas fun:

Your Elf Name Is...

Minty Sticky Fingers

What's" Your Elf Name?

It was a busy weekend, and some more cards!

It was a typical weekend- full of laundry and grocery lists and other such mundane matters. I also made a few Christmas cards, decorated the front door, and just got a lot of both Christmas and "regular" chores done.

Here is the latest card I am making for Christmas. I'm kind of glad that the kit only includes 4 of this one- it seems to take forever.

The kids at school are still working hard on their cards for the Appalachia project. Here's a few examples of today's cards:

It was a very sad evening last night for those who follow the activities at the Djuma Reserve site through the WildEarth cams. A pride of lions, known as the Nkuhuma pride, consisting of 2 males, 9 females and 16 cubs, lived in the area. A group of 5 very violent (yes, even by "lion standards") male lions, known as the Mapogo, has been seen in the area recently. Last night the 5 lions attacked the males of the Nkuhuma, and killed the one known as Dozie.

This is not unexpected in the wild. The reason why so many are saddened is that what can happen next is predictable and sad. When a lion or a group of lions attempts to take over another pride, he/they will first kill the male lions of the pride. After that, he/they will then kill all the cubs. The female lions will try to protect their young and may be killed in the struggle. If any of the females survive, they will now belong to the new pride.

The Nkuhuma pride has been seen and watched on the WildEarth cameras now for many months. The two males lions are/were magnificent and beautiful to watch. The female lionesses are also quite beautiful, and wonderful to observe as they care for their pride. The cubs are all just WAY too cute and watching the cams over a period of time, we have also watched them grow. People all over the world have become very attached to the lions of the Nkuhuma pride.

The Mapogo have a bad reputation among the rangers and other safari people in this area in the south of Africa. They are especially violent, shocking many of those who have worked there for years when they even resorted to cannibalism, by eating a lion they killed- NOT typical lion behavior. Five males is also a larger than usual coalition of male lions, which also makes them especially dangerous. There is a lot of talk on the various Africa webcam boards about the long term implications of such a dangerous group and their potential impact on the whole balance of widelife in the area.

Sadly, the most likely outcome of all this is that the Mapogo will now kill the remaining adult male lion, then all the cubs of the Nkuhuma pride, and possibly all the females in the process. These marvelous animals that we have been watching and enjoying and learning to really appreciate, may soon all be gone from Djuma.

So, I will be checking the boards and listening to the drive tonight in hopes of hearing that the Nkuhuma have successfully evaded the Mapogo, even if it means they are gone from Djuma.

Time to get the clothes ready for tomorrow, then makemy hot chocolate for my Africam time.

14 days til Christmas!

Getting back on track

I am finally feeling pretty much back to normal. School is under control again- my tests are all caught up and the remaining pile of work to mark from last week is so much smaller than it was that it no longer a threat to make me crazy. The biggest boost is that I finally slept. I decided to "take a nap" yesterday afternoon- and didn't wake up until the alarm went off this morning. Husband and son both insist they tried to get me to get up for dinner but I remember none of it. 14 hours sleep really helps!

The goal for this weekend is to get a lot done while relaxing doing it. I'm going to try to get on the drive at the WildEarth site tonight for the first time in a long while. The rest of the weekend is to be a mix of housework, laundry, doing a little Christmas decorating and making some cards. I have three new crafty books to spend some quality time with as well. If I am successful with all this, I'll have some new pictures to post by Sunday.

18 days til Christmas!

Just a quick post

I've been wanting to get these pictures up for a while, but "things" seem to keep getting in the way.

These are a few of the cards that my craft club kids at school have made.

After my week "off", we get back to work on more cards tomorrow.

What a WEEK!!!

Well, it seems like last week was last YEAR!!! Thanksgiving was sooooo long ago!

I left for the shore with my Mother at noontime on Monday and went straight to the hospital. They ended up having to operate sooner than they wanted as the damage was so extensive that it was more dangerous to wait than to go ahead. The surgery went very well- he is in for a long recovery but he will be fine. He is still in the hospital and will be for quite a while, but Mom and I finally felt comfortable enough with his condition to come home.

It was a tough week. Translating medicalese, dealing with my Mom- the retired nurse who knew enough to know how very serious the situation was and who was very frightened by it- and dealing with my SIL- who had no clue how serious it was AND didn't want to know- and trying to do the best for DB whenever he needed anything, plus all the phone calls to various familiy members, the goofy hours, hospital, restaurant and deli food.... I'm beat!

I must admit that the hospital was NOT the dinky little place I remembered but rather a modern, major medical center. The care was excellent. It is a good feeling to know that, since DH and I have oftened talked of retiring to the shore, and medical care was one of the issues that might have deterred us.

I'm trying to get ready to go back to school after missing a week and catching up around the house. Thank goodness it's still 3 weeks til Christmas- I think I can get caught up both home and school by then and start the new year off on the right track.

Happy December- 23 days til Christmas!!!