Bits and Pieces

It's been awhile! I've been busy and so much going on! Just thought I'd try to do a "quick" post of little bits of what's been happening in my life. So hard for me to make a short post but I'll try......

First.. I want to THANK SO MUCH my blogger friend, Marilyn, at Mountain Top Spice, for the wonderful goodies she sent to me (below).  She is just so awesome and has the most gorgeous photography on her blog. We like to send each other little things we've made, to try to inspire each other.

BEAUTIFUL garden album made from chipboard. It's 8x8 and just wonderful!

Darling little "junk journal" full of sweet pages and little surprises!

Thank you SO MUCH Marilyn! Your last blog post about Fall was just so beautiful.

I continued on making more Christmas cards in November, and played with some projects that use Christmas cards from the Dollar Tree! Amazing what you can do with one or two 5x7 cards!

Here are two little booklets.. using 1 card each! One is a photo frame to hold two photos, and one is for a 3x5 post it note pad.

Post it Note holder.

On the left, I put acetate with a pocket at top to slide in the photo. On the right, the flowers at the bottom form a pocket to tuck a photo in.

I used a smaller card here, regular A2 size that I had in my stash from last year. This made a darling little photo frame!

The pockets at the bottom and black bows hold the photo in place.

These were so fun to make that I had to rush to the Dollar Tree and get more packs of cards. They are quite sturdy and the photo frame feels like you've used chipboard, but you haven't. Thanks to Posh Paper Lady for her wonderful tutorials on YouTube, using Christmas cards. I have so enjoyed watching her Christmas videos recently. They are unique and fun and I've made many of her projects.

SNOW:  We had a nice little snow storm about a week ago of about 8 inches. I didn't take pictures but here is one I took today. Still some snow left.. and I love that our little vine maple still has some pretty red leaves on it.

Snow almost gone. It was so cold and so much ice on the roads! I'm so glad it's almost all melted and we are now having some warmer temperatures for a week or so.

TRIP:  We took a fun (though exhausting) trip up to Astoria, OR to see my son and his fiance and her son. Before we went, I did most of my Christmas shopping for them, and wrapped the gifts and packed in the car.  It's about a 5-1/2 hour trip and I did almost all of the driving as my husband is still having trouble with getting contacts that work for him for driving. He just can't see t drive, especially at night. There was a 2 hour night drive the last night coming home, and I drove and it was awful! The roads were covered with packed snow and ice and gravel, and it was so hard to see as I was driving curvy and winding roads in pitch black. 

My son and his fiance are in their new/old place (that they remodeled all summer) and had just moved in about 3 days prior to Thanksgiving. So they were exhausted, and yet she still managed to have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner.

Beautiful long old oak table all set for the feast. Their kitchen is huge with big windows looking outside to the woods. I loved their place and was so glad to see it finally.

This is an 8 foot oak table that my son refinished for his sweet lady. It had been in storage for a long time and he did a beautiful job. Look at all the kitchen cupboards and those beams. Love it.  (Ignore the waste can!)

Their house is a 2 bedroom, rustic, on 1 acre in the woods south of Astoria, OR. What a lovely place! I love all the trees there, and tons of blackberry bushes, which I miss so much here.

Lots of old growth timber on their property. My son has so many plans for trails in the woods, benches to sit on and a little "man cabin". I'm so happy for him. He's 41 and this is the first home he's ever owned.

After our 4 day visit, we planned to head home. Got a call that morning, early, that my husband's son's wife was on her way to the hospital to have their baby! She wasn't due until December 18th, but how fortunate that it was then, and right on the way home! So we stopped on the way and I got to hold my sweet little step-granddaugher, Izzy. She is my husband's son's first child. So many firsts!

BUNDLE OF JOY!!

ANOTHER TRIP:  Now.. I'm heading out tomorrow to go to my chiropractor 5 hours away. During all this time (between mid October and now) I've somehow gotten a pinched nerve or something in my neck and shoulder, and have been having pretty bad pain from it. Have tried two chiropractors here where I live but both have just made it worse. So time to go to my "miracle worker" who I know can fix it.  So I'll be staying there for 4 days so that I can go see him twice for adjustments.  I really don't want to make that long trip alone, but no choice, as with pain, there is no quality of life and I can't do what needs to be done!

So if I don't post until after Christmas, everyone have a wonderful December and Christmas celebration. We are staying home this year... may make a short run to my sister's 70 miles away, but that's not so bad - weather permitting of course.

Happy Holidays!

~Marilyn~