Tired

So we got the rest of the flower beds cleaned yesterday. We were gonna put down the mesh weed barrier and fresh mulch today, but I think I overdid it a bit. Got up this morning and my lower back was screaming. So we decided not to work in the yard today. John's contemplating his eyelids again! We needed a break.

Over yonder is my Stamp of The Month card for our Units swap for December. The set is called "In My Heart" and I used the "Free Spirit" paper pack. We work a month in advance so we can have samples to show our customers. I love seeing how creative the girls in my Unit are. Everyone has a completely different take on the SOM sets!

Rare bird sighting in FL!

I bought a flamingo for the yard in the Spring. He is now an Albino Flamingo! The summer sun has bleached him almost completely white. Wonder if I could auction him on EBay?!

We got three flower beds cleaned this morning. Granted, they are the 3 we did in the Spring and added 6" of mulch to, so they were pretty easy to do. The hard ones are gonna be the ones that didn't get cleaned. We also got the front hedges trimmed and the lawn mowed.

Now John's sleeping...errr...checking his eyelids for holes in the La-Z-Boy!

Honey-do

John starts vacation today. The honey-do list is endless! We need to clean the flower beds that didn't get finished in the Spring and add new mulch. The front hedges need to be trimmed. The shed and driveway need to be power-washed. His benefits pkg for work is due to be renewed next month and there are some changes we want to make, so that has to be taken care of. If we get around to it (which I doubt!) the exterior of the house needs painting. The FL sun just does a number on the outside of your house. Twenty year paint is really only good for about 7 and then it starts getting "chalky." That will probably be put off til the Spring.

And somewhere in that mix, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of our first date on Oct 31! Yea, our first date was on Halloween. We went to a bar, who's name is long forgotten, on Clearwater Beach to see Snake Eye Band. And 20 years later, we still go and listen to Max, who was the lead guitarist/singer for Snake Eye, when he plays in the area. The more things change, the more they stay the same!

I went yesterday and visited my friend Penny. She had back surgery two weeks ago and I'd been trying to give her time to heal and get back to feeling more "normal." She looks wonderful! She had compressed disks in her spine that have been causing her much pain and discomfort. She always looked like she was in pain trying to walk. Because she WAS in pain. She actually looked like she was floating on air yesterday. She looked better than she has in the 3 years I've known her. She still has a lot of healing to do, but is doing remarkably well for being only 2 weeks post-op.

Have a great Sunday!

busy, busy, busy!

It's been a busy morning! The cats woke me up at 4:30 (ack!) so I got up, read the paper, started laundry. Somebody please tell me HOW we generate so much dirty laundry with only 2 people living here! I don't get it! While the first load was washing, I vacuumed the house. Gotta stay on top of that with 2 kitties tracking litter all over my floors! They are mostly Maine Coon and have very long hair between their toes and the litter gets caught in the hair and they track it everywhere! Got dressed and went to the grocery store. I like to get there early and get it done. Came home and found a construction size dumpster across the street. We had the most wonderful neighbors! Paul and Ann were both salt of the earth, give you the shirt off their backs people. He passed away last year and the house is too much for Ann. They have over 2 acres and all the kids are grown and gone. She got herself a condo in closer to town, and a couple of her sons are gonna fix up the house and they will put it on the market. I knew it was coming, but it was still a shock to see the dumpster in the driveway when I pulled in.

We've got overcast skies this morning. It was misty-raining on me as I was coming back from the grocery store. We need the rain. Our summer rains never really materialized, so we are still much below our normal rainfall. And winter is usually dry for us. So whatever rain we can get, we'll take. We got almost 2 1/2" here on Wed but could always use more.

I'm working on a few Christmas gifts for family and friends. I'm doing Pocket Memory books. Once I get them completed, I'll post some pics so you can see.

Have a great Friday!

And so it begins!

After much cajoling from Liane, I guess I'm going to join the ranks of the Blog-osphere!

Over there, on the left, is a card I made recently using CTMH Caprice papers. Love them!

A little about me. I am a double-fifth generation Native Floridian. A very rare breed! Both sides of my family settled along the west coast of Florida in the 1860's. That's not a typo! It says, 1860's! I live now less than 50 miles from where I was born. I've only lived in 3 houses my entire life. I've been married almost 20 years to John. We have no kids, but do have 2 cats, 9 chickens and koi in an outside pond.

Let's take this journey together and see where we end up!