Two days until Winter Retreat!

First, let me begin with two little words: food poisoning! I lost over 3lbs in one night and believe me, this was not what I would call fun by any stretch of the imagination. My tuna steak tasted just fine at lunch yesterday at the restaurant but it's effects were less than fine. Let's just say that sleeping on the bathroom floor out of necessity is not for the faint of heart. Nuff said. I am alive; I am ok, I think, and what I have had so far this morning has stayed where it should.

Some of the pics: I found this great scrap tote (see grocery cart) to help bring in all our supplies at the crop. Kip and I are thinking of customizing these for scrappers; think it will sell? G-a, Kip and I collaborated on one double page layouts; talk about a hoot! And then there is Rock, Woody's dog, who decided that not only did he want to come home with Jill and me but that he would drive as well. The palm tree peekers picture was taken at Janets on Anna Maria Island where we stopped to see her and Bob. We met them for lunch (thanks dear Bob) and then went back to their house. And lastly,are the manatee mama and her baby that we saw in Spring Bayou yesterday on our meanderings. We went to HOneymoon Island, Ozona, Spring Bayou and the Sponge Docks all before the stomach woes set in.

Love to all.

Three days until Winter Retreat

and I can't wait. Along with my "Birds of a Feather" class celebrating friendships, Di is offering a lovely 3 charms class with dominoes, Elle a darling birdie shaped album class with lots of bling and Michele, a cute Rol-a-dex class! Linda is also offering 2 free classes that really rock and G-a is doing some super NEW tech classes with some tags! Each one of Linda Jenkins' crops just raises the bar higher and higher. This is a DO NOT MISS event. And yes, I'll be posting lots of pictures!

Because I have blogger (yes, I am cheap), I never know how how it will load my photos. I have included the cover of my album for my class, a few of the inside pages and the back cover (birdhouse). Hope you like it!

I'll post some pics of G-a's fund raiser crop in Ft. Myers tomorrow. What a success! She raised a bucket load of money for the school and we had such fun!

Be still my heart

And I wonder why I can't lose weight...this is what E cooked last night. It is Pan-Fried Chicken and Ham with mozzarella with grape tomatoes sauteed in brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and olive oil with fresh basil served over garlic-herb pasta. (Southern Living Feb.09 pg.106). It was as good as it looks!

Our pal, Jill, arrives this afternoon and then the fun begins. Tomorrow we will head down to St. Pete for lunch and a visit to a scrap store there. Am thinking I'll take Jill to one of Kip and my's favorites: Scrapbooking in Paradise. I don't think Jill has been to that one. We pick Kip up when she gets off work and head to Ft. Myers for a fund raiser crop tomorrow. Big get together at Barb's tonight and I am sure we will talk away the evening. Sat. is the crop and I am doing demos. Sunday, I thought we might hit Bell Tower (I miss that so) or maybe the big outlet mall and then head home. Wish you could join us. The Southwest Cuties(my nic name for them.) will be at the crop (four of the most fun young gals you'd want to meet)and it will be good to see them again.

I hope to get to finish the Valentine book for my daughter, deco a few of the birdies and maybe even do a layout or two...but who knows. I either get lots done at a crop or very little.

And next week brings even more fun!

What a day

E and I were glued to the t.v. set for most of the day and into the evening watching this historic event. We have a new President and our hopes and best wishes go with him.

While all this was going on, some of us who know Moni and Nick (Cleveland) were following their day as well through the hospital Care updates. Nick needed a kidney and our friend and his wife, Moni, was a match. So, yesterday, the transplant took place. Moni was in and out faster than expected and Nick was ready to go. The last update I received was that the kidney was placed into Nick and was producing urine even before the surgery was completed. E and I are keeping the two of them in our thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery along with Kip's dear friend, Barbara.

I am heading up to Kristen's school today to do some one on one in reading and writing with a couple of her little second graders and then have lunch with her and some of her team mates. Can I just say how refreshing it is to work with those little ones after 30 years of teaching English to reluctant teenagers? lol

Have a great day!

Too many ideas and too little time...

( I have no idea in what order Blogger has elected to load my pictures so you may have to play match up. Sorry for stupid blogger).

When Catherine and I were having breakfast Sunday, one of the things we talked about was how one of our scrapping problems was not that we couldn't think of things to create but rather that we had too many ideas flowing. I have found this to be particularly true this week.

When I created the little notebook for Catherine, I knew I had to make one for myself and then one for several friends...or at least get them into altering these darling little moleskin books too. I am almost afraid to go back to Barnes and Noble for fear 1)the notebooks will be gone 2) they won't be gone and I'll want to buy them in all shapes and sizes! And, because I love the way the alcohol inked glass square looked on Catherine's book cover, I got out the inks and made several more.

Then, on my way home from breakfast that day, I had to force myself not to stop at the craft store where I had found these way too cute little birdies made out of pressed wood. My fingers are twitching to cover every one of them and make fun birdies. I am thinking my papers from PDQ (bisous.biz) will be just perfect to make these birdies spring to life (sorry about the pun...can you tell I am done with our brisk weather here).

So, moving right along. I was at Ruban Rouge yesterday using the Accu Cut machine that Lisa makes available to her customers, and found this great little mini album...5 chipboard pages and each one is a different shape by Little Yellow Bicycle, one of my favorite companies. I picked up some of their papers and some others and, before I knew it, my scissors were snipping and glue was flying and I covered all the pages. Now to go back and turn this into a Valentine's for Chris and Kristen. (don't worry...my dd never reads my blog...I'm not sure she even knows I have one let alone two!lol)

And then, two days ago, by phone, Gerri-anne and Sonia (aka Sophia) of Kit N Kaboodle (www.knkclub.com)from Ft. Myers are helping me locate some papers I need for the class I am teaching on the upcoming Hilltop Memories cruise (www.hilltopmemories.com). Linda, the beloved owner of Hilltop, found the cool word book for me and you can order one from her! Now, G-a and Sonia are in Ft. Myers in a store describing papers to me over the phone and giving me sites on line so I can see what they are describing. And, that is how I ordered some of my papers for the Cruise class...lol. Again, LYB for a bunch of them. I wanted to go nautical this year as opposed to the tropical I've been doing for the cruises.

And, finally, my "Birds of a Feather" class for Linda's Winter Retreat...this is a tiny sneak peek only. I am done with the album which celebrates women's friendships and now am doing all the 'fun' stuff like running off templates and pictures and gathering supplies.

See what I mean...too many ideas and too little time...and wait til you see the butterfly album I did for KnK...it was far too much fun. I'll put it up tomorrow!

Love to all

Sunday Stroll

Catherine, aka W.O.T.E. (her blog's name is Woman on the Edge), and I met for breakfast at Cafe Alfresco in Denedin, a small lovely little town with a strong Scottish heritage. This darling little village sits on the Gulf and I come here for the views and the shopping (not to mention the food and festivals) as often as I can. The breakfast was yummy, the conversation lively and fun and Catherine a delight! I was having so much fun, I forgot to take a picture of my breakfast, crab cakes Benedict. Sorry!

After breakfast, we took a walk through some of the streets. This area of the town is surrounded by darling little cottages and lots of Craftsman homes. Most have little gardens and we even found a cute cottage tucked into a garden next to some shops.

Speaking of shops, as you know this is one of my favorite areas to visit for trinkets. Jill and I once went into Qs (a great place to shop)at 10:30am and were asked if we'd like an appletini. That was even a bit early for moi! Catherine and I were not to be tempted though but through no fault of our own. Only the restaurants seemed to be open so we did a bit of window shopping. What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning: good company, good conversation and a good weather to boot. Let's do it again, W.O.T.E. !

Check out her blog (list on left)for more pictures of our get together. She is a much better photographer than I.

Dreaming of Italy

What seems just like last year but what has actually been about three years ago, we took a trip to Italy to celebrate our tenth anniversary. We went with our dear friends from St. Louis, Steve and DeeDee. The sights, the sounds, the color, the food, the wine....oh Mama Mia! So, because it is cold and dismal out, I thought I'd cheer myself up (and hopefully you) with some of my favorite pictures from that trip. And yes, there are two doors pictured. I have a "thing" about doors. I actually have started a "table top album" of doors I have seen and been drawn to. (Memo to self: scrap some of these and put them in the album!)

Let's see: The on going "Behind My Garden Gate" album, my Doors album, my Hilltop Memories Retreats Album, my yearly events album, and on and on and on. Guess I better get scrappin'.

My reveal for Knk is on the 20th. and I can't wait. I spent yesterday making a Butterfly Garden mini album with the Feb. kit and it was such fun. I also have a layout featuring some gals you just might recognize! So stay tuned and stay warm.

The Feb. kit is up at KnK

If you don't already subscribe, you should. If you do subscribe, mossy over and take a look at what our DT Leader, Pam Bennett has done with the kit...her layouts will blow your socks off. Those of you who don't yet subscribe can get a sneak peek of a couple of Pam's layouts by going to www.knkclub.com and hers are on the front page. To subscribe, contact Gerri-anne Duke at admin@knkclub.com for information.

I'll be posting my creation for a challenge I was given at ACOT on my altered blog (http://jules-atoasttoalteredart.blogspot.com) in just a bit. Five of us were challenged to create something incorporating "2009" into it.

Have a great one!

Long ago and far away....

I had a wonderful young man in my class named Reggie. One night several of us went to Blueberry Hill in the Loop before heading off to do the Rocky Horror Picture Show and lo and behold, Reggie was at Blueberry Hill playing trumpet with Murder City Players...and, for some reason, I googled the band tonight and they are still going strong. Please click and listen to them at the link...way to go Reggie! from your favorite English teacher! (lol). And if anyone knows Reggie, let him know I am thinking of him these many years!

http://www.myspace.com/murdercityplayers

Been Tagged so here we go...(thanks W.O.T.E.)

37 Odd Things About ME

1. Do you like blue cheese? YES
2. Have you ever smoked? FOR EONS BUT QUIT ABOUT 11 YEARS AGO...HARDEST THING!
3. Do you own a gun? NOPE
4. What flavor Kool Aid is your favorite? RASPBERRY
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? YEP...WHAT NEW THING WILL SHE FIND WRONG WITH ME...LOL
6. What do you think of hot dogs? LOVE THEM WITH LOTS OF MUSTARD

7. Favorite Christmas movie? WHITE CHRISTMAS

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? COFFEE AND OJ
9. Can you do push-ups? PROBABLY NOT...AND I MIGHT HURT MYSELF TRYING
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? THE NECKLACE MY HONEY GAVE ME WITH MY BIRTHSTONES AND HIS.

11. Favorite hobby? PAPER ARTS/BIKING/KAYAKING

12. Do you have A.D.D? NOPE...JUST A WILD CASE OF PROCRASTINATION

13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? EITHER/OR
14. Middle name?KAY
15. Name thoughts at this moment? W.O.T.E. WILL GET A KICK THAT I DID THIS!

16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? WATER, WINE AND LOVE A GOOD G&T

17. Current worry? TRYING TO BALANCE MY CHECKBOOK
18. Current hate right now? THE COLD
19. Favorite place to be? ON THE LANAI SOAKING UP THE SUN OR IN OUR GARDEN
20. How did you bring in the New Year? WOKE UP JUST IN TIME TO WATCH THE FIREWORKS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

21. Where would you like to go? BACK TO ITALY, SEE GREECE AND CRUISE THE MED WITH MY HONEY

22. Name three people who will complete this? KIP, ANNE, AND CHRIS

23. Do you own slippers? NOPE, I AM A SOCKS KIND OF GAL

24 What color shirt are you wearing? NAVY SWEATSHIRT TODAY
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? NO...TOO COLD AND SLIPPERY
26. Can you whistle? YES AND IT DRIVES THE CATS NUTS
27. Favorite Color? YELLOWS AND PEACHES AND PERIWINKLE BLUE
28. What songs do you sing in the shower? NONE

29. Would you be a pirate? AYE MATEY

30. Favorite Girl's Name? MY DAUGHTER'S, KRISTEN

31. Favorite boy's name? ANDREW OR EDWARD (AFTER MY GRANDFATHER)

32. What's in your pocket right now? POCKETS ARE EMPTY
33. Last thing that made you laugh? MY HONEY THIS MORNING WHEN HE DISCOVERED OUR CAR DOES HAVE SEAT WARMERS (GO FIGURE)

34. What vehicle do you drive? G6 HARDTOP SILVER CONVERTIBLE
35. Worst injury you've ever had? FELL IN A HOUSE UNDER CONSTRUCTION WHEN I WAS IN 6TH. GRADE AND SLASHED OPEN MY WRIST...28 STITCHES AND I STILL HAVE A SCAR...SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO MY MOM...SHE TOLD ME NOT TO PLAY THERE.

36. Do you love where you live? ABSOLUTELY...IT IS PARADISE
37. How many TVs do you have in your house? FOUR...WAY TOO MANY

This tag is for anyone who reads my blog. Give it a shot. I thought it was fun!

Fab Blog Award

Sweet Carrie from ACOT (A Cherry on the Top)gave me this darling award. Thanks, hon. and be sure and check out her blog and her darling family. She is a great scrapper btw! http://carriesthisandthatcorner.blogspot.com/

Now, the rules go like this...list your 5 addictions and then pass the award on to five other people.

ADDICTIONS
1. a wonderous glass of Pinot Grigio
2. inks and paints and anything even slightly smacking of artsy
3. Jordon's Almonds and Bridge Mix (oh I love the ones with the jelly in them)
4. coffee: I have to have my java in the a.m. or look out!
5. the internet! It is the best way I have found to keep in touch with my friends as I am not a big phone person

MY FIVE PICKS
1. Anne http://reverentirreverence.blogspot.com/
2. Mama Jayne http://wonderingsfromthewesterngate.blogspot.com/
3. Darling Ruth http://sillyaboutscrapping.blogspot.com/
4. Smoochie Girl Roz http://www.wolfepak5.blogspot.com/
5. Teresa (who makes the most amazing bags and other creations http://teresascreations.blogspot.com/

So, be sure to check out these blogs...they are FABULOUS DARLING!

The Creative Process

As anyone who knows me knows, I am not a neat tidy scrapper. I can keep my mess pretty well confined at a crop but at home...I spread out. I am one of those people who has to have it all where I can see it so, while I was designing my class, "Birds of a Feather", I gathered all the stuff that was even remotely usable for this and go from there. I do all the misting, painting, inking first and then the papers. Then I go back and add the embellishments to each page. On the home stretch on this one. The two pages you can see are two of my favorites.

January is a busy month starting soon so I want to get my DT projects all done for KnK. The KnK fund raiser crop is weekend after this one and my dear pal, Jill, is flying in from N.C. to attend. We'll grab Kip on our way down to Ft. Friday (23) and stay with our favorite gal pal, Barb. Big party from what I hear at her house on that Friday...lol. We get back here on Sunday the 25, and head out to Winter Retreat (Hilltop Memories)on the 29th with Gerri-anne (knk club), Barb, Sonia (aka Sophia), Kip, and Janet who owns Scrapbook Etc. in Bonita Springs, Fl. Let the fun commence!

Off to finish up my class and break open KnK Feb. kit! Have a great day!

Crop Opportunities

for you Florida gals! Both are fund raisers for worthy causes!


Come join us for a
"CROP 'TIL YOU DROP PARTY" sponsored by KNK CLUB
SATURDAY
JANUARY 24TH
9AM
Father Anglim Academy
Xavier Hall
2055 Heitman Street
Fort Myers Fl 33901
Cost: $25 per person
Includes Breakfast, lunch and snack.
Every guest receives a goodie bag and there will be lots of door
prizes and other giveaways given throughout the day

You can contact Gerri-anne Duke for further details and to sign up at admin@knkclub.com.

(I'll be doing some demos and make n takes with Gerri-Anne and Barb!)

and

Incarnation Crop: Feb. 28th. at Incarnation Catholic School (5111Webb Rd., Tampa, Fl, 33615) Bring a friend and recieve 3.00 off your admit ticket. Limited to 6 discounts per scrapper or 18.00 of ticket price. Lunch from a pizza place, dinner catered by Olive Garden, snacks, drinks, desserts, fantastic page kit goodie bag, prizes vendors (HILLTOP MEMORIES TRAVELING STORE !!!)and hours of cropping. To register, contact Rebecca Vazques 813-810-0807 or send check to same name/same address given above with contact info for you, and whom you would like at your tnble.

Cost: 36.00 if you sign up before Feb 1 and 40.00 there after.

Sunday after Sat. night

We had a great time last night at T-Flys here in Tarpon Springs helping Rob celebrate his birthday. His friends are great and were so friendly. Kristen and Chris came up and we all talked, listened to the techno DJ's and had a brew or three. Nice that we are only 5min. away and we actually stayed until midnight (gasp!)

This morning Kristen called and asked if I wanted to walk on Clearwater Beach with her. Now that daughter of mine really walks/jogs fast so ol' mom did the best she could stopping now and then to take a pic or two. It was a beautiful day on the beach. We started off with fog and about 67degees and ended at about 71 with a lovely Gulf breeze about half an hour or so later...then we went out to breakfast at Clear Sky Beach Cafe which, btw, has great food and the company was the best!

Another lovely day in Paradise...thinking I need to get back into the walk/bike routine...feels good!

The rest of the story

I had started a mini album for my pictures of our Stocking Pals Exchange way before the event and finally finished the pages at the Ruskin crop. I had replaced the smaller sized page protectors with precut mat board for more sturdier pages and more texture. Now I have to find the pictures of everyone and their pals from others' web albums as it seems I am missing quite a few. I have all the embellishments ready to go including a tiny silky stocking I found a couple of years ago at Jo's or Mike's. I used red velvet paper for the back of the book and it is fun to hold! lol

The second album I finished at the Ruskin retreat was the one for my family Christmas. I found this darling little gate at a boutique in Dunedin when G-a, Barb, Jill and I went shopping just before the Stocking Pals Exchange. I added some gold highlights to the gate and used the stencil as an embellishment adding Krylon inks and others. Now to print my pictures out and put them where they go with my memories of the days and events.

The computer tech guy comes tomorrow morning to see what he can do about Minnie's non-functioning space bar. Hope it does not take him to long as we are paying by the hour but long range, his prices beat all the others we called. He said he had done three space bar problems with the same model as Minnie and was able to correct two of them in five minutes. That is never my luck but wouldn't that be nice?
Keep your fingers crossed for me, please and have a great day! Happy Friday!

KnK January Kit

is chocked full of goodies! I made this card with just a few of the fun things in the kit. It is a match book card and self sealing. When I send this, I'll put the addy on the back and, to protect the embellishments on the front, I'll enclose this in a clear envelope. Be sure if you do this that you put the stamp on the OUTSIDE of the clear envelop as it has to be stamped by the post office on the actual stamp.

Now, I just got my Feb. kit in the mail yesterday and could hardly sleep thinking of all the things I can do with this kit. I can't give you a sneak peek yet as the reveal is not until Feb. 1, but maybe I can throw out a teaser now and then as I work with the kit. Let me just say this, if you have never ordered a KnK kit, you really need to get this one. Contact Gerri-anne Duke, the owner, at admin@knkclub. com.

I am also working on my class for Linda Jenkins' Winter Retreat Jan. 28-Feb 1 at Oleno State Park here in Florida. For all you Florida/Ga. gals, this is the one no one ever wants to miss (well, not quite true as no one wants to miss any of the Hilltop Crops!). You can cantact Linda through www.hilltopmemories.com for further information.

My class is called "Birds of a Feather" and will celebrate gal pal friendships. The album is the Tim Holtz grungeboard brackets book, lots of darling little bird embelllishments and flowers and ribbons and gems and Glimmer Mist and pearly paints and and and ...well, if you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that my class kits are brimming with goodies. This time I am going to also use some tiny envelopes and tags so gal pals can write a note for your book.

If there are any kits left over after the crop, they will be for sale either through my blog or KnK.

Have a great day.

Epiphany Celebration

was yesterday and boy! were there tons of people. The city had been anticipating a decrease in attendance because it fell on a week day and because of the economy but it looked to me about the same as last year. It took the boys a bit longer this year to locate the cross but one young man was victorious. We had fully intended to attend the Glendi (the festival) after the diving by the young men, but the location was switched from outdoors at Craig Park that abuts Spring Bayou to the Greek Community Center and there was a 2.00 admit fee. Now, we certainly could afford the admit fee but, on such a lovely day and, with hundreds and hundreds of people, I'd prefer not to be confined. We had lunch at Snookers, chatted with some visitors from Boston and returned home to take down tree limbs in preparation for the whole tree on the side yard to come down.

The tree has grown too tall and is blocking the solar panels on the roof, our source of warmer water for our pool. We have decided we'd prefer a lemon or a lime tree or both in this messy tree's place.

Happy Birthday to my son, Rob, who turned 37 at 2:24 this morning. He'll be over for his birthday meal tomorrow and we are attending a b'day party for him Sat.

Hope your day is a good one!

Posted a project

on my altered art blog for anyone who would care to look!

http://jules-atoasttoalteredart.blogspot.com/

Might as well be spring

Besides the tropical weather, the second most favorite reason I love living in Florida is the constant color in my garden and around our town. Something is always in bloom. Yesterday, I took my book and went to the lower lawn to sit and read. It was almost impossible to concentrate: my camillias are bursting out all over, I have a few rose buds ready to open, my ground orchids and lilies are brilliant and my geraniums' color has never been prettier.

Today is one of our little town's biggest celebrations: The Epiphany. The Greek community here really goes all out. E and I are heading down to Spring Bayou to watch the Arch Bishop throw the gold cross into the water and the young men dive for it. After wards is a big festival and, while we missed it last year, there is a Greek salad and a gyro with my name on them for sure. I love to watch the dancing and the music is infectious.

Enjoy your day!