Saturday-3:30pm

Until recently Karma's only bedding interest on laundry day was to get herself "made" into the clean sheets. Now she crawls under the blanket and/or comforter that I toss on the floor while I wash the bedding. A "Where's Waldo" situation? Nope--she did have me fooled the first time, but I know her hiding spot now--ROFL! (Karma's that big blob in the middle of the pink blanket.)

Well, I have been working and working on the Christmas cards.

I added the Stickles diamond "snow" onto the trees. Spread them out to dry on one side of the craft table.

Had to move the chair way away from the table so that Miss Karma wouldn't walk on the wet glittery Stickles snow--which automatically made the out of place chair very interesting.

Spread out the rest of the trees on the other side of the craft table.

Then I cut the strips of red ribbon...

...while Karma kept me company in the chair--if you can call snoring keeping one company--hehe!

Dried the trees overnight--and was able to start adding tape to the ends of the ribbons. You can see my stockinged toes as I sit comfortably in my little lounger with a pillow and then the lapdesk on top of the pillow for a workspace.

I got little pieces of tape on the ends of all the ribbon pieces, as you can see here on the endtable.

Then I started attaching the ribbons on to the embossed green pieces of cardstock for the fronts of the card.

Finished attaching all the ribbons...

...and then added the double-sided ScorTape to the backs of the green cardstock pieces...

...and then to the backs of the black cardstock pieces (also for the fronts)...

....while I watched TV and episodes of Northern Exposure and Upstairs, Downstairs. My hours have been going around the clock. Been going to bed after dawn and caught a really dramatic sunrise. Looked more like a sunset! Gorgeous!

So deeply colored...

...with clouds shifting in the wind...

...and colors gradually changing--was breathtaking.

Anyways, I got this far--all the green and black pieces of cardstock ready to tape and all the ovals and circles finished.

Well, I totally overdid it these last several days. Especially being so much more comfortable in my lounger that I could work longer without the knife pains in my shoulders and lower back--well, I just kept plugging away and forgot about...my bad arm! Duh! ROFLMAO!!

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I know! I certainly know better. Just because the taping involved mostly a lot of lighter twisting action and not the gripping, pressing, pulling stuff...I still know that I can't overdo repetitious movements with my left arm. Duh! Duh! Duh!

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I feel silly admitting that I actually did this to myself and wasn't thinking. I have been so good at self-regulating that maybe I just got cocky. Haven't had to wear my sling for years. Brain lapse! My arm is on the edge right now, so I'll be out of commission for a while until the burning subsides--could be days--could be a week or more. No crafting for me for a while. :(

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Looks like it might be a perfect time for me to finally finish reading World Without End, eh? I made it halfway months ago and the book has been sitting here next to my chair. I can read one-handed with my lapdesk set up. (I have lots of props and gadgets to help me do things one-handed around here--hehe!)

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Anyways, later on tonight I am going to go over to Dagan and Leah's. Didn't work out for yesterday--not enough time to squeeze a visit in before they had gaming. Today they are working on organizing their storage garage. After dark I will pop over. :)

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Hope you are having a really nice weekend with no storms on the horizon. ;) Have an old familiar quote for today. Friends are one of life's delights!

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"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

Donna Roberts

Thursday-3:45pm

Best laid plans, eh?

No getting together Tuesday and Wednesday with Dagan and Leah. We had a winter storm watch and terrible winds. Blizzards to the west of us, semi-trucks toppled off the freeway, power lines down, and nasty freezing rain. I rescued the philodendron from the porch before the cold rain hit.

I never saw any snow. I was up late and slept in, but never saw any white on the ground here. The winds, tho--whew! Pounded and whistled and screamed.

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Monday night the maintenance man came beating on the doors on third floor asking about leaking. [All those prayers were answered, folks! Still no leaks here.] I guess there were a lot of new leaks and they had water "pouring in" a lot of the apartments up here on third floor. A lady opened the door across the hall from me and she had leaking. Those poor people have just slowly been moving in this month. I felt so protected and fortunate. Kind of makes you feel guilty when your fortunes have changed for the better when others have changed for the worse. But not enough that I wanted water pouring down from my ceiling light again--ROFL!

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Warm and dry, I colored in the holly and berries while I watched Supernatural.

Had to turn up the volume to hear it over the wind.

Tuesday. Was still raining and I took these shots. You could hear the plastic being whipped and snapped about up there on the roof.

The wind had ripped the plastic sheeting off these areas where they had removed the siding. No wonder there was leaking. Down to the bare wood. Must have finished right above me? Sunny today, but the plastic is still just hanging there in strips--haven't seen any roofers, but they might be somewhere I can't see them...or hear them? Nothing has changed from my viewpoint up here. Even the ladder is still there on the grass.

I am just extra grateful that I haven't had any leaking this time. :)

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Been working away on the oval parts with the holly. I did half of them at a time.

First I glazed one berry (left side) on each one...

...waited till it dried...

...and then glazed the other berry...

...and waited till that one dried. That way the berry glaze couldn't run together in one big blob. Leah's idea! ;)

Then I worked on the other half. Notice how much more organized I was by the second half--hehe! Such straight rows. ;)

I had them laid out to dry overnight. Now they don't stack well because they are lumpy, but here they all are. Done with that step--tada! :)

I didn't do things in the order I thought I would, but that happens a lot when you have a lot of steps. ;) Next I am going to start putting the snow on the trees--and cutting ribbons.

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I will probably make a quick trip over to Dagan and Leah's tomorrow afternoon. Leah has milk for me and she needs the Dahle cutter to trim some pictures they bought that are a titch too large for the frames they purchased. We want to make an envelope order from ClearBags.com, too. So, I'll still get to see them briefly this week. :)

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Today I am washing clothes. Nice to see the sun again--even if it is only 37 degrees outside. Supposed to get back up into the 40's the next couple of days. It's a fine day. :):)

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Hope you've been having a good week and nobody suffered from that 2,000 mile wide storm front?

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"Not only must the most privileged feel they are bothers and sisters of the most destitute, but the most destitute must feel as well that something within them makes them equal to the greatest sages and geniuses."

Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov

Tuesday-1pm

A couple of bird's eye view shots of Karma. The back of her head looks like it was painted in halves right down the center--black and brown--hehe!

She thinks if I have stopped over her I should be giving her a little scratch...so she's waiting--ROFL!

So--what have I been doing since I last chatted with you?

Stamping! Stamping! Stamping!

Finished all the trees.

Oh--and yesterday I got a package from Iggy!! Oak leaves from a 375 year old oak tree!!

http://intenseguy.blogspot.com/2009/05/im-in-love.html

When I opened the package there was this lovely autumn scent.

I found a pretty box to put them in. Thanks soooo much Iggy! Oaks are Leah's Mom's favorite trees. Karma, apparently, loves oak leaves, too, as she wanted to eat them! Hence the search for a box--hehe!

Anyways, next I stamped the holly & berries...

...on the ovals for the inside of the card.

And meanwhile--every time I was waiting for ink to dry...

...I stamped a few of the backs of the latest bookmarks until I finished those up, too.

Last night I stamped the top...

..."happy holidays" in black over the holly...

...and then worked on the "seasons greetings" in black below the holly...

...until I finished!!

Yup! Done with the stamping--TaDa!!

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Next I'll start adding the sparkly snow to the trees. Have to lay them out to dry, so I can only do just a few at a time. While they dry I can color in the holly & berries and cut the red ribbons. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel--hehe! ;)

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But today...I am going over to Dagan and Leah's to work on the etsy shop. So--maybe back to cards on Wednesday. My shoulders & back need a little break, anyways. So happy to have gotten this far on the cards, tho. :)

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Fantastic News!

It has been raining pretty steadily for a couple of days and....NO LEAKING!!! They must have finished with the roof over on this end. Hallelujah!!!

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Interesting News:

They are saying this rain could possibly turn into snow by tomorrow? We'll see. It shouldn't stay on the ground this early in the year, but it just goes to show you how cold it has gotten fast up here. I had just gotten my fall jacket out--hehe!

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Well, time for some nice warm lentil curry on this chilly October day. :):)

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"To generous souls every task is noble."

Euripides

Sunday-noon

Even after the wasp died, Karma held vigil for another day or so. She can be very patient when she wants to be.

This weekend has been cloudy...

...dark and gray.

The roofers are a messy lot.

This is how they left it for the weekend.

Obviously aren't done yet.

Hasn't been actual rain that I have seen yet, so I still don't know if it will still leak from my ceiling light fixture. One day I'll find out, eh? ;)

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Well, I never actually made a leaf card. You know me--once I started cutting down a couple of the leaf prints...

...I just had to keep plugging away...

...trimming all those sheets of stamps down...

...until they were all done and stacked and organized--ROFL!

I decided to put them in my unfinished projects satchel for now. Got the table cleared off this morning for working on the Christmas cards again. :)

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Dark, chilly days--Karma has been napping a lot.

I have been cooking and baking! Made up a lentil curry, sour cream cornbread, and some alfredo pasta with peas the last couple days. I still have some spinach quiche left, too. I won't have to cook all week and I can just focus on cards--tada!

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The dentist.

This time I got a lady dentist. (I get a new one almost every time I go, it seems--hehe!) She asked me right away if I have been on meds for an extended period of time. (Yes--till I recently weaned off everything and only use them infrequently.) She said I have dry mouth and some medications cause dry mouth and create problems and weakness with your teeth. (Just another reason now that I am glad I weaned off the meds--did need a couple of pain pills after the dentist, tho.) I already know about Biotene mouthwash (helps with dry mouth) and use it, but guess I should remember to use it before bed every night.

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Anyways, the dentist visit took longer because I have a tricky, unusual nerve system in the front of my mouth and the novocaine goes off in places they don't want it to (like under my eye and up my nose) and not where they expect it to. Finally got numb in the right place and down to business. All went well. I did make it to buy gas for the car, too--even if it had to be afterwards with a half paralyzed face--ROFL! Now I go in November to get my teeth cleaned and I should have a six month break till my next checkup--(and no paying them every month)--ahhh!

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Speaking of payments--sigh. I got a letter from one of the school loan places that said I had over $600 in interest due--right now. Called them and found out they will no longer put off the interest payment due to low income. So, we made a verbal agreement to $20 a month starting in November. I guess I am glad they agreed to that--she was a nice lady to talk to, too--because the federal government actually can take something like 15% of my disability check for repayment of school loans if the mood strikes them.

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I haven't gotten a bill--so far--from Merit Care for my visit with Dr. Sleckman, my rheumatologist. Maybe they got the hint after my new worker called them? She told me not to pay it and call her if they sent me one, anyways, because they weren't supposed to be billing me the last three years. So, that's good.

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The plan for this coming week is for me to go to Dagan and Leah's one night so Leah and I can work on etsy stuff now that ValleyCon is over with--and for them to come over here another night to put together the bookcase, etc. We're thinking Tuesday and Wednesday. I haven't gotten any pictures of ValleyCon yet, but when I do I'll post some. :)

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I recently noticed that I haven't been getting my summary email from youtube of the updates for the places I follow. No clue why it quit and no idea how to get one coming to me again. Anybody have any ideas?

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Well, that's it for this dark Sunday afternoon. Hope you had a good week and weekend.

Keep smiling!! :):)

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"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one."

Elbert Hubbard