Yipeee! It kinda snowed....

It wasn't much in our end of the county (a big build up to it of course by the local media) but pretty enough to get the kids out sledding and to make the backyard a half-way winter wonderland. Hoping Mother Nature will give us another go at this so my snow scrapbook page will be a little more impressive..!

Rio aka Trash Surfer Dude was at it again!

So last night we go out to The Melting Pot with Scott & Joey for dinner.. it's Charlotte Restaurant Week and a lot of really expensive places have divine menus for $30 a person.. 3-4 courses.. great time, lots of laughter.. a fun evening... brought to a screeching halt when "the dog" (see picture below where he's smiling) greets us in the garage but does NOT do the "give me a rawhide, you're home" dance. Needless to say the reason was because he'd been trash surfing in the bathroom where we had moved the kitchen trash can but forgot to close the door.. the aroma of fresh coffee grounds filled the air as they filled the carpet, floor and bed. Freshly mouthed plastic lay awry on the living room floor while "the dog" aka Rio lay penitent on the couch... to say he knew he was a bad boy is to say that the moon rises at night.. So we are again back to the 4-yr old debate (only 4 yrs old because that's how long we've been married) = how to remember to put the trash in the bathroom and shut the door OR who will invent for us a dog proof trash can??? In the cabinet might work but if he can pull over a big metal trash can and open it by stepping on the lid, why would we want him scratching the door off??????????

I finished a chipboard wall hanging for our Canada/New England cruise. I used 3 chipboard pieces from Keller's Creations and did each double sided. It was no easy task threading the ribbon connector through and I'm not sure I'd do this again.. But it fits in a spot that needed "something." The picture of the Biker Chiks is from Christmas Day. When I was the age of Steve's granddaughters who would have thought that 50 years later little girls would get motorized dirt bikes instead of Betsy Wetsy and Ginny Dolls from Santa....

Now let's see if I can link to another site...

I finished a card for a card challenge on Stars & Stamps which is part of Operation Write Home.org. I used DCWV cardstock for the base, Paper Studio "All Stars" and "popped" the heart with a glue dot. I found the stamp at Michaels for a Dollar- I love a bargain. The background for some reason looks too blue but I've taken the picture twice so.... first attempt at all of this. Now to see if it will link...

Wow! I figured some of this out...

The relative success of my first day as a blogger has been brought to you by Bailey's Irish Cream and the patience of the somewhat neglected Rio the Wonder Dog...

Day 1 - Now What?

Into the world of blogging I go... not kicking and screaming but secure in the knowledge that it usually took me weeks to master anything new "computer-wise" at work and that it will probably take that long here. I created this blog primarily so that I can upload cards, photos and scrapbook pages to other sites. I'm used to writing travel articles, but not things about "me," so blogging could be interesting...we'll see where this goes.

I am newly retired (December '09) and am enjoying every second of it! No major mental adjustment needed. My dear hubby, Steve, helped me turn a spare bedroom into a cheerful yellow craft room/office which I've outgrown (now I also "own" his closet...) so I need to quit adding to my stash. I'm using an old library table of his for my scrap table and I love it! The room has navy and white accents and the walls are covered with pictures of places and people I love.





One of the most gratifying things since retiring has been the time to make handmade cards for our soldiers serving overseas to send home. We make them for holidays, birthdays, and "just because," send them overseas where our soldiers (and sailors) add their own messages and send them to friends and family back here in the States. Check it out at Operation Write Home (http://www.operationwritehome.org/). When I can figure out how to do it, I'll upload their avatar but after half hour with no success I'm just gonna wriggle my nose, say abracadabra, take another swig of my Irish coffee and let 'er rip~