I want to wish all the internet blogger friends a very Merry Christmas. I hope you enjoy the day with your family or friends.  It has been a wonderful year and we are blessed with a loving family and wonderful friends. This is my Christmas card this year.  Be kind to one another.

I'm here early this morning because the handy man is coming to fix the light fixture, make the kitchen sink stop leaking and to light my fire. Oh no that's not right. He's coming to light the fireplace. When our new stove was installed, the plumber was checking the gas and told me you don't have to keep that pilot lit all summer in the fireplace, so he turned off the gas. Then when he went to show me how to relight it, it wouldn't come back on! I'm hoping he can fix that as we always have a fire on Christmas.

Today is another first for me. I printed Olaf from the internet and made a card for my grandson. It is simple, just the picture and I added some stickles on his side. I tried little black buttons over his chest and tummy but it just didn't look right, so he is just plain. How easy and I love how it turned out. Just printed it, trimmed it, mounted on white cardstock and then the dark blue paper.  I think I could learn to do digital.

I think it's okay to say my beautiful inspiration card from my previous post is from Darnell. She makes the best cards and is so much fun. If you don't know her, go visit http://www.djkardkreations.com/. I promise you will love her blog and have a laugh everytime you visit.

Be kind to one another.

I've been so good at getting busy in the morning and getting things done. It's amazing how productive I can really be! I am falling behind on blog reading but once the holidays are over things should be back to normal without so much extra to do. I was cleaning my new glasses Thursday and one of the lenses fell out in my hand. So I went over and she tightened it up and asked if my glasses were made there. I told her yes and she said they have to remake them. The frame is too big for the lens. Another two weeks without them. I will take them in after Christmas. The balast in my kitchen light fixture went out and I have no light over the sink and stove. I would like to say I really can't cook in there but that would be pushing it. I'm using the little light over the sink and will call an electrician Monday. I'm waiting with bated breath to see what the third thing will be.

I received this darling shaker card for Christmas from one of my online friends and it inspired me to try one myself.

When we were at the neuro office they had Frozen stickers for the kids. I took one and decided to make my shaker with that. My friends' card has a raised circle on the front of snowflake embossed fun circle paper. I'd never seen one done like that before and I'm in awe. She embossed the sentiment with the most beautiful turquoise embossing powder. I just did mine the way I've seen it done in online videos. I like the way it turned out and I'm more confident to try it again. I hope my granddaughter likes it.  It has been so overcast here for the last week it has been hard to take a decent picture of cards. Be kind to one another.

I am completely losing it. Today, under 3 rolls of wrapping paper, I found a whole stack of Christmas cards I have not mailed. I made another card for granddaughter this time and messed it up too. Don't push hard on poly clear stamps, they will smoosh. Got the tree up and can't find the topper or skirt. Went to grocery and came home without what I went for. This is not a good sign. On top of buying my son the wrong size pants last week, I am wondering if my mind is tired of thinking.  I looked forever for the remote to the tv and it was next to the keyboard of the computer (where it usually is). Be kind to one another. We may all be taking care of each other in the future!

This is my 2nd messed up card. The word tweetings is all squished.

Edited to add: I forgot to tell you when I went to the grocery I bought frozen lunch sandwiches and several frozen things. I set the bags on the counter when I came home. Then I went in the other room and started something else. The food sat out for at least 20 minutes before I saw it and put it away! Who does that?

Sung to the tune of "Let it Go" is "I can see, I can see". Well, pretty much.  I noticed this morning that I could not read the fine print of what is excluded on my Kohl's coupon. I am supposed to have 20/20 vision but I don't think that is the case. I can read but it is strange learning to read out of the bottom of the bifocals after using magnifying  glasses for a month.  Thanks for all of your well
wishes for my eyes.

My cards are all mailed and some gifts are purchased. I am going to run out today and see if I can finish up. I already have an exchange! I bought my son (who has been wearing the same size pants since he was living at home many years ago) a 32/34 instead of 34/32. Duh. I've ordered only two gifts online this year and they were things I could not get in the stores. Got the email today that they have both shipped.

I made a Christmas card last night for my grandson with Lawn Fawn stamps but the block must have had red ink on it and it made three little red lines on the card when I was stamping the hearts. I don't know if you can see the red stickles on his scarf but it is pretty irl.  One last swallow of coffee and I am on my way to shop. Be kind to one another.

I'm on a new schedule and my blogging visits are suffering. I found I wasn't being productive around the house and this is definitely the time of year to be productive. I love to read the blogs as I have my morning coffee. BUT I was running over into lunch! So now I can check email and read a few blogs and when the coffee is done, so am I. At least until laundry and housework is done and anything else that is on the to do list. I've actually started some Christmas shopping and my cards are done. We had two doctor appt. last week and they called Fri. and my glasses are in. I go Monday to pick them up and lunch with a girlfriend I used to work with. I am hoping that is it for the doctors. We have had 20 doctor appt. since Oct. 7th. We hardly had any all year long. I don't really care for condensing them into two months though. Before I jump into Christmas I want to share three cards we received for Thanksgiving from online friends. They are too gorgeous not to share. Be kind to one another.

Happy Thanksgiving today to all who celebrate the holiday. We all have things to be thankful for, no matter what the day. I just want to tell you that I'm thankful for all of you bloggers that drop by and say hello. You have been an enormous help to me these past few weeks and I enjoy reading your comments. Today I'm sharing a card I got from a friend that I stamp with. I love the colors she used on this one. Love to you all and be kind to one another.

Today's the day I go order my new glasses. I'll be so glad to have them as I am having a hard time reading.  It is so windy today. I keep hearing a sound from the roof that I don't like but I can't tell what is making it. The roof is still on the house and my craft stuff is safe, so I'm not worrying about it. I'm showing my crafting helper today and how hard she works. It just shows how tiring it is to make cards! This card is for my brother in law who had a hip replacement last week. He is home now and doing really well. I love these Art Impression stamps and the sayings they have. They are a hoot. I kept it real simple as it is a guy card. No frills but I did add a gray pearl to the stethoscope.  Be kind to one another.

This week is moving too fast for me. I'm not ready for the holidays yet. I finished my Thanksgiving cards and need to catch up with cleaning before next week starts. I used some left over patterned paper for these cards so I am entering in http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com/2014/11/pixies-snippets-playground-week-151.html. These are DeNami stamps and I love the tiny images. I used a Cuttlebug Provo Craft embossing folder and sponged some ink on it. I hope it's warm where you are. I feel so bad for the places in New York that got so much snow and still getting more! Be kind to one another.

I checked in on The Paper Players Challenge  yesterday and was delighted to learn their challenge this time is for a thank you card. I needed to make a thank you card for my eye clinic that did my cataracts. They did a great job and sent me a beautiful plant afterwards. I think this is "clean and simple". I did add eyes to the glasses because that was for the eye clinic! I did add a pair of glasses to the envelope too. Be kind to one another.

I have a fun project for you to try. I found this on Pinterest by http://www.creativejuicesdecor.com/. It is called "A Box of Sunshine". I am sending it to my friend, Martha, who is undergoing chemo every third week. I thought it might cheer her up. Darnell of http://www.djkardkreations.com/  taught me how to figure out Pinterest. I could never figure out who actually made what was pinned. I made a quick card to go along with it. This stamp from Stampin Up was used and I didn't get a real clear image but I did it several times and this is the best. I don't think she will be picky about it. Be kind to one another.

Okay I was a little mislead. The polar vortex isn't coming until tonight. I kept hearing about it on the weather and when I went out the other morning it was cold, so I thought that was it. It turned out Sunday and Monday were beautiful out. Today is nice too. So I have been doing all my running errands and cleaning up the yard since it is so nice out. We have one Dr. appt. tomorrow afternoon and then I hope we are finished for a while.

This is a card I think came from stamp camp last year and I didn't use. It uses older paper from Stampin Up and has gold cord around it and a leaf punched out. Be kind to one another.

The polar vortex has popped in for a few days. We are snug inside and being like slugs. Went back to Dr. Wed. and he said DH's infection is almost gone and to stop the antibotic because it has caused a rash all over. Now he has a fungal thing going on. We are to keep clean and dry and he has five days of pills to take. Then the rash and fungus should all be gone. Then I will shut up.

The card for today is one I saw last year but I don't know where or whose it was. It is an embossing folder background, an oval punch, sentiment and ribbon. Can't get much easier than that. I'm only making a few Thanksgiving cards this year. Then it's time to start Christmas cards. I know many of you make them all year long and I should do that too. Then it doesn't take too long to get them done. I keep all my Christmas stamps and stuff in a tub that is put away until it's time to start making them. Right now my tub of Halloween and Thanksgiving stamps is out and in the way. Two tubs out would be too many in my little room. I stumble around as it is. (That's because I'm clumsy)! That also says I have too much stuff BUT I think there's a law that says you can never have too much stamping stuff. I don't want to break the law. Be kind to one another.

Oh what a beautiful day! The sun is out and my eye is okay. Well, sort of okay. Well, not broken.  They assure me the spot that is cloudy will clear up and go away. They didn't seem concerned about the sparkles. They did a complete scan to look inside and make sure nothing is wrong that they can't see. My sight, which seems to me not as good as the last time I went, is better. In two weeks I can order new glasses. I am so relieved that things are okay. Thanks for all the good wishes. You guys really lifted me up this past month when things were yucky. Now if I can just get hubby on the right track.
Speaking of lifting me up, I have three terrific cards to show you today from other crafty friends.  This first one is from Mary of  http://carolinacardsbymaryh.blogspot.com/. Mary's card had texture in the gold sparkly embossing powder and the bat was raised and backed for dimension. It has such a fun happy witch. The next two are from Brenda at http://friendscraftinwithfriends.blogspot.com/. She also sent the most beautiful waterfall folio for pictures and notes. It is gorgeous and very detailed. I know it took a long time to make and I love it so much. On the Halloween card she stamped the background. I thought it could be patterned paper but she did it herself.  The last card is from Brenda also. It came with the folio. A darling basket with an apple and leaves and the cutest circle sentiment.  They are all so appreciated and I'm thankful to have such great friends. All of you are fantastic. Be kind to one another.

Happy Halloween! It is so cold here with wind chills of 30 and howling wind and rain with a temp of 37. I feel so bad for the trick or treaters out in this. My son will be taking his kids out for a while. Probably a short while! There have been snow flurries all day but nothing sticking. I hope this is not a preview of the winter to come.

Dh (dear husband) seems better but has developed a rash all over. I called Dr. and they said not to worry, they will see him next week. Okay then. I have sparkles and a cloudy place in my right eye. I called, they said to use drops. I think something is wrong. I see them Monday.

This is my last Halloween card. It is a Lawn Fawn stamp. I love their stamps because they are so fun. Cute little critters and fun sayings. It's time to start on Thanksgiving cards. I received a wonderful card and gift from a blogger friend yesterday that really cheered me up. It has been a bummer of a month and I'm glad to see it over. So the timing of that gift was perfect. Be kind to one another.

Just a quick update. Just got back from Urology visit and I'm so pleased. The Keflex is working. It is slower than if he had the IV's but the swelling is down. We will do an ultrasound next week and go back to be checked a week after that. Our son will be here soon to take me for my second cataract surgery and that will be done. Things are definitely looking up. Thanks so much to all of you for the support and listening to me go on and on. It does help just to vent a bit. Here is a card that we made at a Stampin Up workshop last year.   Be kind to one another.

If you can believe this, this is another health thingy so you can skip this next paragraph.

I think all in all we are just having a bad month. Sat. hubby mentioned he was in pain. He wouldn't go to the ER and I couldn't get him in to Dr. until Tues. Dr. took one look and said we needed to get to a urologist. Dr. called and they couldn't see him until Wed. so our Dr. sent us the the ER. ER Dr. wanted to admit him and keep him on a continuous IV of antibotics for several days. Hubby would NOT stay and was very vocal about it. They sent us home with oral antibotics. We went to urologist Wed. am. He, too, said he should be in hospital but since he wouldn't we are to stay on antibiotics and come back Mon. am. He has cellulitis of the scrotum and it has spread to the groin. He is miserable and in pain. I have been watching for fever, chills, and the skin to turn black. I'm scared to death but so far he is holding his own. If he is no better Mon. I think the Dr. will send him to hospital. I have POA and will take it with me. They will have to sedate him to keep him and I hope they will.  I have started my drops in my right eye today and go for my appt. this afternoon. Also going to my reg. 6 month appt. with GP that I had to cancel when hubby went to ER with chest pains. I'm running out of steam mentally and physically. I feel like I'm writing a novel here and haven't figured out the ending. On a bright note, I took Molly for her weigh in yesterday and she is down to 41 pounds. They really made over her.

I am so glad my Halloween cards were made already. I'm not sure when I'll get back in the craft room. This is an Impression Obsession die that I fell in love with at Stampaway. They had a card made up with it and I just copied it because it was so cool. I have another IO die I bought that I want to make up a card with so I hope I'll have time. I'm sorry to be such a downer but this is my way of keeping track of what is going on. Be kind to one another and stay healthy.

Fairly uneventful weekend. I made a card for my friend to welcome them to their new home and forgot to take a picture of it. I wanted to get it in the mail and it is out in the mailbox now. If I don't take a pix right away, I forget to do it. I can tell my left eye is doing great, BUT it is giving me a constant headache looking thorough my glasses. I need to have them on to see up close but it is distorting things and feels funny. I go tomorrow for my checkup and I'll "see" what they say.

Today's card is just stickers on cardstock. I love the stickers and wanted to use them for something so I made a quick card. It is actually one of my favorite cards this year. I have so many stickers and embellishments that I bought years ago when I first started scrapbooking and I want to use them and don't see any reason that they can't go on a card. Have a wonderful week and be kind to one another.

I would like to welcome my newest follower. She is Lisa from Indiana too and her blog is http://indymermaid.blogspot.com/. She really has some fun cards on her blog. Thanks, Lisa, for visiting me and becoming a follower.

Oh what a beautiful day we have. It will be much colder tomorrow but today is so pretty. It's a little windy but the temps are good.  I should be washing windows for winter today but I am being a good patient. I don't want to undo anything or cause any ill effects.

Today is our youngest granddaughter's birthday. She is a teenager now. Where do the years go and so fast. I bought this card for her a long time ago for when she got older. There was a Stampin Up booth that came to all the craft fairs around here. I bought so many cards from her over the years before I really got into stamping and I have them all in a shoebox. The stamps are older ones but her cards are so cute. I am going to get them out and start sending them. As I show them I will tell you they are from the shoebox so you'll know I didn't make them. She is no longer in the business and doesn't have a blog that I could find. My next door neighbor's birthday is today too. She is 82 and loves candy. I took her a few little treats in little holders I made from http://kardsbykadie.blogspot.com/. Kadie is in several stamping groups and they make each other little gifts that are so clever. This treat holder is very simple but cute as can be. I used Tim Holtz stamps to cover the front. The first card is from the shoebox and the next picture are the treat holders. Be kind to one aonther.

Thanks for all the good wishes for my surgery. It was just like they said it would be. I was awake but didn't feel anything but the flushing of my eye. I was out of there in about 20 minutes and stopped on the way home for food! I hadn't eaten since the night before and surgery was at 4:30. I had a Sprite for breakfast! I wore my shield all night and slept just fine. Went to Dr. at 8:30 this morning and he said it looked good. It was raining so there was a lot of glare when I drove over and my sight is a little blurry but they said that would clear up.

The hardest part of this is I can't bend over for a week or lift anything over 25 lbs. I'm sure the sweeper weighs at least 130 lbs. so obviously I can't do that. So I decided to spend the day in my craft room. Wouldn't you know, everything I picked up I dropped. I had to go to the kitchen and get my tongs. Where there's a will, there's a way! FYI tongs will pick up paper, dies and a roll of washi tape.
This is the card I made today. It is from Lawn Fawns "Monster Mash" and "Stitched Hillside Borders". and I used a MorningStar stamp for the haunted house and bats from the new Stampin Up  set called "Holiday Home".  It will go to one of the grand kids. Be kind to one another.

We had a wonderful time at our son's house yesterday. They built a fire in the fire pit and we sat around that during the afternoon. It was a little cool but not too cold to do that. My daughter in law made lunch for us and Paula Deen's ooey gooey butter cake. It was delicious. We celebrated our son's, granddaughter's and my birthdays for October. It's nice to all be together no matter what the occasion. Hubby was tired and we only stayed for three hours or so. He slept on the way home. That hospital trip exhausted him. He said this morning that "it's nice to be home".

The winner of my stamp giveaway is Louise. That's so funny that she won as she was my first comment and said "pick me, pick me"!  I will get it out in tomorrows mail. I hope you enjoy it.

This is a fun Halloween card that I used pumpkins from Lawn Fawn and a sentiment from DeNami. The straw paper is Colorbok and I don't know where the flower came from. I have a bunch of them in a jar so I guess you could say it came from the jar. I used Stickles for the center. Be kind to one another.

This first part is a medical thing, so you can skip over it. Whew, we have a new wrinkle. Wednesday afternoon hubby said his chest hurts. He said "I won't wait like I did the last time if this gets worse". Last time he had a heart attack on his way to work while driving. About 4 he said it was getting bad so  we jumped in the car and went to ER. His tests didn't show that it was his heart but the nitroglycerin made the pain go away. Much against his will they admitted him. If he was going to have a heart attack, he missed a good chance while he was ranting and raving about staying there overnight! They decided not to do a heart cath because he just didn't understand what they were talking about and the Dr. thought it would make him worse and more confused. It was while I was waiting for him to be released that I was bombarded with information. A social worker started asking a lot of questions and a physical therapy gal came in too. They want to make a home health care visit to teach him to walk with a walker and inspect the house to see if they can make it better for him. I don't mind that and think it may help us. When I called our sons they said they have been talking and think we should consider looking at facilities where you start out together then can move to assisted living and skilled care. I started crying in the waiting room where we were talking. They and the nursing staff and doctor see more than I do. If something happens I don't see it as a problem, I just adjust and fix it. They see it as a problem we are going through and needs to be taken care of. I was just tired and overwhelmed and the sympathy and offer of help got to me. I know my sister in law told me a while back I should start looking at nursing homes so I would be prepared when the time comes. So these last few days have been an eye opener by just seeing things through other peoples eyes. Our younger son told me last night he expects to get a call every day that dad has fallen and I need help. After I get through this eye thing I will start my search. It is heartbreaking. On a lighter note, I can't go anywhere where I won't have a craft room!

Here is my first Halloween card. It is a fun stamp set from Lawn Fawn with a googly eye added and paper from a 6x6 pack from Doodlebug along with a strip of washi tape. It just cracks me up. 

Don't forget I have a giveaway ending Sunday at noon. Be kind to one another.

I found I have an extra stamp in my stash. It's a Denami stamp called Happy Monster Party. I would like to do a quick giveaway so i can get it in the mail fast. I don't have that automatic thing to pick a winner so I will just put everyone's name in a bowl and pull one out.  I'll draw for a winner on Sunday by noon and I can mail it Monday. I don't want to wait any longer because of the cataract surgery on Monday. Just leave a comment on my blog by Sunday noon and you'll be entered.  Can't wait to see who I'll send it to.

I have one more fall card for you today. I think this is the end of them. This is for my friend Martha who is battling leukemia. It's time to start on Halloween cards. This is another simple card cut with a Lil Inkers angle die, a sponged leaf and some sparkle leaves. Be kind to one another.

We got up to a real fallish day this morning. Rain and cloudy and 67 degrees. Temps will drop throughout the day and more rain. Good day to stay in. I have another fall card to show you today. I love the fall colors, leaves and all the images that go with the season. The only thing I don't like is that fall indicates winter won't be far behind.  This is a fast and simple card. A strip of patterned paper and a leaf cut from the same paper. Say something nice today.

My cataract surgery is scheduled and my eyes have been measured. The first one is Oct. 13 and the second is Oct. 27th. I got to see a video at the doctors yesterday of how they do the surgery. It is amazing how they can just replace something in your eye and so quickly.  Today's card is inspired by cards I've seen on Pinterest. You make a stencil or use one to sponge inside, then stamp while you still have the stencil on. It's easy and I love the look of it. Simple but sweet. Be kind to one another.

I just wanted to answer a few questions from yesterday's post. The golf card is not a personal picture that I used. It is an image from Graphic 45 paper. That sheet has a lot of images on it and I thought it would be a perfect one to use for my son's card since he loves to play golf. It is the image on the bottom left.  The stamp on the second card that looks like a zipper is from Hero Arts. It is from a set called Brush. It is turned sideways on the sheet and the arrows actually point to it. It's another pretty day and I hope to get some patio time in. Be kind to one another.

I made my son a birthday card that only has stamping inside. I am going to enter it in the Sunday challenge at http://thepaperplayers.blogspot.com/. I don't know if this is okay but I hope so. His birthday is early next month and I actually have finished it before I needed it.  I also made a card yesterday for http://stamplorations.blogspot.com/2014/09/bi-weekly-sketch-challenge-20.html  based on http://www.djkardkreations.com/ sketch. This is a lot for me and I'm excited that I was able to do it. Be kind to one another.

We are having Indian Summer here and it is beautiful today. We went to grandson's baseball game Sunday and sat out in a ferocious wind. The sun would go behind the clouds and it would really get cold with that wind. But today is wonderful.

This is medical and you can skip it and go down to the card portion.

 I took hubby to our regular GP on Friday for his regular checkup. Dr. said hubby is in beginning stage of Parkinson's. I wasn't surprised because I see how he is doing. He takes very small shuffling steps and is very slow walking. He is not very steady on his feet and I'm afraid he will fall. His hands have tremors and he rubs his finger and thumb together. That is called pilling. Dr. said he will send our neurologist a note and recommend Parkinson medicine for him. He thinks it will help with tremors and walking and perhaps even with his brain. We don't have an appointment with her until Nov. 12th. Otherwise everything else looks fine regarding his health. He has gained all his weight back and I'm having a hard time getting clothes to fit him. In winter he mostly wears sweatpants in the house because he is cold. I'm looking for long pants with an entire elastic waist. Don't want a button and zipper and they are hard to find. I can't find any in the stores so I'm going online.

Today's card is for my girlfriend Marilyn's sister. She was diagnosed last summer with Leukemia and was told they would watch her. The end of August she became extremely tired and went back to Dr. She has had one week of chemo and will be off three weeks. Then repeat that for five more weeks. I feel bad for Marilyn since she is in the process of moving to their new house. She will be taking her sister to chemo every day for the five weeks she goes. I'm sorry, this was medical too. I sent a card to Marilyn but forgot to take a picture of it. Be kind to one another.

Today I have a card I want to post on http://www.djkardkreations.com/ blog for "Never Before Used Stuff". I used a We R memory keepers 6 x 6 paper pad called Harvest. It has delightful papers for fall cards in the prettiest colors. I also used a gold plastic leaf in the bottom right corner of the card but it doesn't show up very well. I found those at Michael's. I'm not sure if I've ever even used the leaf stamps before. They are Stampin Up from 1997. It's time to really get in the fall mood and I do love all the colors and images from fall on through the end of the year. Be kind to one another.

I was disappointed in our VA doctor visit. He wanted to know why we were there and what we wanted. He looked in hubby's eyes, ears and throat and listened to his heart.  He asked who was president, what day, month and year it is and that was it. They took seven vials of blood and we were there two hours to have that done. Said any compensation would be based on our income and none of his issues were service based. Okay then, we are finished. All that for nothing.
This is the make and take we made a few weeks ago at the local scrapbook store. It is very cute and very simple to make. It is a covered toilet paper roll glued with a glue gun. It did come apart at the bottom. I think I will make it with heavy cardstock and use red line tape. You could put little treats in it. It is cute as it can be and very simple to make. Be kind to one another.

Just 24 hours ago I had to wear socks and put a blanket on the bed. Ack, is it that time. Our normal temp this time of year is 79 degrees. It was 47 degrees yesterday morning. That's just not right. I have recovered from Saturday with the family. We had the best time. It was great to have our oldest grandson home from school for the weekend and to see all the kids. When they are in school we don't get to see them during the week. Lots of food, fun and talk. After lunch the kids played a game called Hedbanz. You wear a headband and draw a card and put it in your headband. You can't see your own and you ask questions of the others to be able to guess who or what you are. They laughed and laughed.

We all played it the last time they were here. Everyone couldn't believe how good Molly looked. I don't notice how she looks everyday but she has lost weight. She goes today for her weigh in. She loves her prescription dog food. After she eats, she goes and stands by the bag and nudges it because she wants more. It is so funny to see. Our son and DIL both liked their cards. I cased our son's card from http://www.stampingwithjuliegearinger.blogspot.com/ She makes the most intricate cards that are just beautiful. Our son loves fishing so I thought this was great for him. Be kind to one another.