Today is a crisp, sunny fall day. I am sitting at my computer in my jams at 9:28am working. The heater is on and it feels lovely. I should have taken a shower about 2 hours ago, but alas I am behind. In addition to doing my other work (which yes, I have been doing, I promise!) Ive been trying to do a little redesign and tweaking of my blog to make it a bit cuter and more fun. I am still working on it. It's a tedious and frustrating process to get it just how I want it, mostly because I don't know just
how I want it and I don't really know what I am doing and I will not pay someone to do it for me. So I will keep working on it. As someone who tweaks things for a living I am used to the tedium, but it's still slow-going. So for now I will leave it how it is (not bad), I will get in the shower, and I will go take on the rest of my day!
Hope yours is a good one. Love life! Be nice! Be happy! Don't let the losers get you down!
"Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself, 'I, not events, have the power to make myself happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead; tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.'" —Groucho Marx
I have given in. I bought some Christmas decorations today. Even if some stores start displaying their Christmas inventory as early as August, I try to wait until after Halloween to start thinking about Christmas. And with my family's impending move and the plethora of still-packed boxes around our small temporary home, it's also kinda hard for me to get in the holiday mood what with the tight quarters and the chaos. Plus, there's literally NO PLACE to put a Christmas tree in this house. It's looking as though we'll still be here this Christmas, however, and I may have to settle for a mini-tree on the mantel and a few small decorations on a table or two... and I will start planning for Christm
as galore at our new home in 2011. But I suppose that's OK. The wait will be worth it!
I thought I'd share a Christmas card today. It's done in shades of green and pink with pearly touches. Not your traditional Christmas color scheme, but it's soft and cool and I like it! The "Believe" greeting is my design from THIS clear set (also available HERE as an individual wood or cling rubber stamp). I used Hero Arts celadon paper, Magical Background, as well as pearls and a jewel from their Earth Mixed Accents (love those). Memory Box pear collage stamp (paper pieced & layered with some sweet Memory Box paper), and the ink is my all-time favorite green, Tim Holtz' Peeled Paint Distress ink. Love it!
Today is Veterans' Day. Here in Folsom we have an amazing parade, complete with my favorite Marching Band. The parade was started several years ago by the incredible Wayne Spence, a true American Hero who is now in Heaven. Wayne and his sweet wife Jane (yep — Wayne & Jane, so cute!) are just the best people. Love them! I hope you all will take some time today to thank a Veteran near you for all they have done and sacrificed for our nation and our world. And if your favorite Veteran is no longer with us, then bless them, and bless you, too.
"Do you know what a soldier is, young man? He's the chap who makes it possible for civilized folk to despise war." —Allan Massie
THERE is a pleasure in the pathless woods,There is a rapture on the lonely shore,There is society, where none intrudes,By the deep sea, and music in its roar:I love not man the less, but Nature more.From these our interviews, in which I stealFrom all I may be, or have been before,To mingle with the universe, and feelWhat I can never express, yet cannot all conceal. —Lord Byron
Stampin' Treasures, owned by my dear friend Diane, is closing. After almost 14 years in business, Diane has decided to move on to other things and I am helping her close the business and sell off the inventory. Great deals are afoot! Go to StampinTrea
sures.com early and often to get in on the action. There's lots to choose from including Hero Arts, Memory Box, Lockhart, Impression Obsession, My Sentiments Exactly, My Favorite Things, Ranger, Kodomo, Hanko, and more. Right now everything is 25% off, and the discounts will get deeper as the month goes on (however if you wait the stuff you want may sell out).
Diane's customers love her and the unique, personal and wonderful service she provides. She's already received a flood of well-wishes from the dedicated and loyal customer/friends she's earned over the years. She will be missed by many!
I am excited for Diane and her future. The online stamping world will not be the same without her, but new opportunities are coming her way and now she'll have the time to dedicate herself to them. Change is good! Love you, sweet Diane.
"The secret of success in life is to be ready for opportunity when it comes." —Banjamin Disraeli
Fall. Yum. Delicious weather, delicious food, and what a beautiful world! I can't get over how lovely the fall colors on the trees are this time of year, yes, even here in Northern California. Simply stunning, especially contrasting against a vivid blue sky. Amazing. To quote Truman Burkank's best friend Marlon in "The Truman Show" (one of my favorite films): "The big guy... quite a paintbrush he's got."
Fall is also great because it
's apple season. If you're from this area, you know all about Apple Hill. It's an area just east of Placerville just off Highway 50 headed toward Lake Tahoe, where the hills are covered with apple orchards. You can go spend the day picking apples, taking in the local festivities, or just sitting around enjoying the atmosphere while eating apple cake, apple pie, caramel apples, fudge, etc... and drinking THE MOST delicious fresh-pressed apple cider on the planet. It's pure heaven!
Here's my favorite recipe for Apple Crisp. It's simple, lovely, and especially comforting and delicious served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
APPLE CRISP
8 cups peeled & sliced apples (Granny Smith or Golden Delicious)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Topping:
1 cup light-brown sugar, packed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
dash ground ginger
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine peeled & sliced apples with the 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup flour; place into a buttered 9x13-inch pan. Combine remaining ingredients and mix until crumbly; spread evenly over apples. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until apples are tender and top is golden. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream. "Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." —Martin Luther
So, today is election day in America. Yesterday I threw away a stack of political advertisements that had come in the mail over the past several days. What a pile of garbage, literally! And I don't even want to answer my phone any more, what with all of the pre-recorded political calls. What a waste. It's so disappointing, really, to see what our system has become. Do we want ANY of these people in positions of leadership over us? I think when I go to vote today I will be holding my nose. Other than one or two good choices who I strongly support, the others can all go jump in a lake as far as I am concerned. I know it is important to be informed and to vote, but it's become a real mess out there...
And I won't get overly personal here, but I have been struggling in many aspects of my personal life lately. Being misunderstood, and not being able to find a way to BE understood, is highly frustrating. I have a 
hard time just walking away but that is what I am doing because I know it is best. I grieve for the lost relationship. Sometimes things happen, and we don't see the purpose for a while, until after some time has passed. I pray for that clarity when it comes.
So it is now November. what is usually the start to my favorite time of year. I am seeking to find the wonder and joy that I usually feel. Sometimes I get glimpses of it but it still eludes me. I am working on it. Happiness is a choice, right?
OK, so... I thought I'd share one of my Thanksgiving designs, that is part of THIS clear set (also available by itself as a cling or wood-block rubber stamp HERE). It's a peaceful, season-appropriate saying and I love it. It reminds me to slow down, be thankful for my blessings, and breathe...
Have a good day!
"If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily." —Gerald Good
What is a family? Why do we have them? Why are they important? What is love, and do we just say it or do we show it? Do we spend our time being our best and doing our best, or do we focus too much on what others should be doing for us? Just some things to think about today...
"The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together." —Erma Bombeck
"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one." —Jane Howard
"Family quarrels are bitter things. They don't go by any rules. They're not like aches or wounds; they're more like splits in the skin that won't heal because there's not enough material." —F. Scott Fitzgerald
"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories." —George Eliot
"No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?" —Elbert Hubbard
"Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example and not his advice." —unknown
"The final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands." —Anne Frank
how I want it and I don't really know what I am doing and I will not pay someone to do it for me. So I will keep working on it. As someone who tweaks things for a living I am used to the tedium, but it's still slow-going. So for now I will leave it how it is (not bad), I will get in the shower, and I will go take on the rest of my day!
