Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
Hi ladies,
I have been reading the thread, but each time I need to type a comment, I think- tomorrow..... that has happened a few times.
Catherine- so sorry for your friend- nice for you to be able to visit her. And, love stories about things like the TV- how cool is that. One mans trash is another's treasure : )
Gracie- hope you had a great visit with your Mom! I love the idea of staying at home , no bra!
Jan- you have been dealing with the heat for so long now! Nice for you to have less crowds there.
We have set records in our area for the heat index....because of the high humidity.... WHew it has been hot! Had a 2nd opinion for my neck and he recommended NO surgery- whew. He referred me to another neurologist to work on cause of the tingling and pain. (The 1st doc did not offer any options like that). He thinks I should be able to lift a baby, no problem! I hope so.
Had a drawing class today- drawing using a grid. The one on my paper was squares, and the grid on acetate we used were more rectangles, slightly smaller width wise. I was drawing a picture of my baseball playing hubby. The differences in the grid made him short and stout- it made me laugh so hard- and my friend Maureen is also in the class- she was laughing as well..... Ray eats all day everyday and never gains a pound! He is tall and thin..... Oh that was good to get a huge laugh! I will re-do and get a nice drawing of him- he will like that! A fun drawing exercise.
Had a busy weekend of dinners with friends last weekend and Ray's baseball playoffs. Also a
Holy land pilgrimage reunion. This weekend- a Block party and a BBQ with friends from college.
I have been making ATC's using hand carved stamps. I am making extra's for a Snail Mail project for letter boxers.
We have 3 monarch caterpillars- that's it this year- 2 in chrysalis stage, one getting ready to .... we will have to find in in the sunroom- it is off the plant- they hang in the most unusual places! They need room to open wings when the emerge, so we do try to find them. Last year, we had 13 and only one butterfly was OK. Hope we have a better record this year!
Shelly you are a night owl!! Rest well! Hope this other doctor has options for you.
Jan, so hoping the heat breaks for all of your area. It's been horrible here, the humidity is off the charts! A cooler, cloudy day is in store for us today, only high's in the 80"s.
Kathy, thinking of you and hope you are on the mend! How is your mom and sister doing?
Jean, thinking of you, still hoping things improve for you!
Have a great day all! I need to get some cleaning done in my craft space!
Had a good night's sleep. It finally cooled down a bit here. We have no air conditioning, only fans. The heat and humidity have been so high, we couldn't even see the lake for all the morning fog. Jan, I hope things cool down for you soon.
Jean, hope you're doing better. And, Kathy, hoping things are improving for you, too.
Shelly, you are one busy gal! I hope the new Dr. can give you some relief from the neck pain. I remember watching chrysalis on the milkweeds in the field behind our home turn into Monarch butterflies! It was so cool! Good luck with your trio.
Ann, can you come clean my craft space, too? I attempted to straighten it up a few days ago and just found more things to play with...ended up making more stacks of things I want to do! LOL
__________________ Judy aka Gracie "Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud." Maya Angelou
The following 3 users liked this post by JRHolbrook:
Good morning. I would like to ask for your prayers for DD1. Yesterday morning my friend passed away, a blessed release for her but sad for the rest of us. DD1 isn't handling it very well being so far from the rest of us. The girls thought of my friend as their honorary grandma so she was special to them. I hated having to tell her when she was so far away.
DH's work down in Delano got finished yesterday so he drove home late last night getting home around 11 pm. DD2 was already asleep.
Catherine, so sorry to hear DD1 is having a hard time being away from family and dealing with the passing of her "honorary grandma." It is hard to grieve without family support! Hugs and prayers for all of you and your dear friend's family, too.
__________________ Judy aka Gracie "Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud." Maya Angelou
Catherine so sorry to hear the sad news about your friend.
its raining, apparently, it’s still dark so I can’t see but Steve said he could hear it on the conservatory roof, light rain! Hope it will stop the humidity as it was so bad yesterday, we felt exhausted.
Gracie I know what you mean about fog, on our early walk it looked like a fog bank over the mountains.
It's been a while since I've chatted here...not feeling very chatty.
Catherine, I'm sorry about your friend and very sorry about how your daughter is feeling, so far away. did she get to see her before she left?
Kathy, hope you're ok.
Kandie, so nice to hear from you.
Yes, the heat has taken a lot out of everyone. And it will crank up here again this Labor Day weekend, just in time for the first day of school on Friday. Yes, they go one day, have three days off, then back at it on Tuesday. I guess 9/1 is the golden day for starting, although there are many school systems that have already been in session, all over the country.
I'm realizing how busy my family is, now that I'm here. I didn't expect to see them every day but they've been on the go with last of the summer ventures, shopping for back to school. Sometimes I don't even know about what they're up to. It's different feeling...when I was further away, I didn't think about it much. I'll get used to it.
But it is nice when they drop in to say hi. Yesterday Liz and Clare went for a run and stopped at my house. Clare is going to be in cross country this year, although she'd rather skip it. She has a hard time motivating herself to train, which isn't helpful as that can lead to injury. So I was proud of her that she agreed to run a bit. I hope they don't start practicing in the heat. She just got a retainer for her teeth, braces in a year. She is starting to wear women's shoe sizes and clothes. Sigh. Mirren loves her clothes to be roomy so she too is borrowing Liz's clothes. Her 10th birthday is next week so I will take her out for birthday dinner.
So my kidney stone update: nothing is happening. I have had no particular discomfort for over a week, which means it's not doing anything. I kept calling urology and finally got an earlier date to see a PA. Apparently they are short handed, very few docs, very few surgeons at this time. Lucky me. I hope the PA doesn't just say 'you have to wait it out.' It could take a long long long time, I'm tired of waiting for pain or discomfort, it's border line too big to pass and it's keeping me from doing things I want to do. If I had a partner, I could probably do more because if something happens, I'd have someone to drive me home or whatever. This kept me from visiting my family four hours away. If I have to take the hydrocodone, I can't drive home and I probably wouldn't want to. Don't want to go to a different ER. Sigh. Another negative of being alone. My family is great, Liz and Scott will do whatever I need. In general I've embraced living along but when a crisis happens, it isn't easy.
The progress on the house: very slow. House still doesn't have Tyvek wrapping because there was so much previous termite damage. Yes, termites are a problem here because of the sandy soil and the lumber mills that used to be all over the place here. I had no idea. There aren't termites now but they caused enough damage that some of the wood needed to be replaced. I was hopeful the house would at least get wrapped before Scott returns to work on Friday but I doubt it. He's doing most of the work all by himself and now has back issues.
Another issue is I have mice. Scott thought he figured out how they're getting in but they're still in the house. I saw him/them twice this morning as I'm on my computer. Scott practices Buddhism and won't set traps or put out poison. We tried a live trap, didn't catch anything. Smart little buggers. I guess he'll call an exterminator. I know, he'll hire an exterminator but won't kill them himself. I just keep my mouth shut about those things. I honor his faith practice. I'm pretty squeamish and want them gone!!!!!!!! I may need to get a kitty.
So I guess that's it for me. Stay cool, fall is coming, I'm happy about that. But I suspect it will be a warm fall.
__________________ Jean Bean the Dancing Queen "You can play a shoestring if you're sincere." -John Coltrane
Jean, that is country living to have mice! We have to stay on top of it too, they can get in the smallest opening or chew their way inside!
Sorry you have had no progress, was hoping to hear better news for you!
It's cool this morning! I read the weather report and we are in for a heat spell this weekend. Hope it stays away for the kids as they start school tomorrow around here.
I'm cleaning this morning, running dishwasher, etc.
Good morning, everyone! Let's see, what has been happening? Not much exciting to report. I was able to hug my friend's daughters (who are also my friends and more my contemporaries) at church. I was surprised, but glad, to see them there. It is so hard to lose our moms. I was able to help them feel a bit more normal about their feelings - why doesn't anyone prepare us for that process?
Yesterday DH started on a big project that we have needed to do for a while. We are sanding down the front rails and porch to remove the paint and then actually stain them to finish them in a more natural type of finish. Of course, it would be easier if we were just painting it again but I'm thinking a natural wood finish would be better so that is more work. He did find that the two columns seem to be different woods so that will make it challenging to finish them similiarly! Maybe we should stick with painting. I think whoever built this house did it with leftovers from here and there!
Jean, I'm sorry to hear there isn't really any progress on the kidney stone. Glad you aren't in particular discomfort though.
Yes, DD1 was able to see our friend before she left. I think that may actually be part of what is so hard about it because our friend was at church just a few weeks before she died so it was just so fast - which is a blessing for her. She had Parkinsons and then this cancer and her body just couldn't handle chemo for the cancer.
Sorry to hear about the mice too. I was amazed to learn just how small a hole those little buggers can get through to get into your house! It is crazy that they can come through a dime sized hole!
School out here has been going for a few weeks now but I much prefer the idea of not starting school before Labor Day.
Continued prayers for DD1 would be appreciated. Good news about her though - she made it into the elite choir. She was concerned about it because she felt she blew the rhythm section of her audition. I don't know if she did, but if so, it was probably good that they knew her from last semester.
Catherine, does your DD1 have the same address as last year? Yay for choir!
Jean, we get mice in the basement, so we have traps. I'm usually the one who has to empty them, but I just hold the trap over a bag and open it without touching the critter, shake it if I need to to make it fall out. We usually use peanut butter and nuts or sunflower seeds. We have a jar of PB specifically designated for mouse traps. I don't like using poison, because if they die somewhere in a wall, you smell it for weeks, and I refuse to use live traps, because then I still have to get rid of them, either hauling them somewhere or drowning. A regular trap is so much easier. And you have to keep them under control. They can do a lot of damage to stuff and probably carry disease as well. DH is a bit squeamish about emptying the traps, but I make him take care of the chipmunks outside. I had a roommate once that would toss the mouse, trap and all.
I am so far behind on challenges. I haven't made a card in weeks, but I recently took some mixed media classes, and have worked on some of that. At the moment my project is making storage pockets in a book for images. So far I've made a lot of pockets, but still need to glue them onto the book pages. I'm using the translucent plastic liners than come in cereal boxes for the front of the pockets, so I can see what's inside. I think I'll use this for stamped images, too, because they are so much easier to use when they are sorted by type at the very least, and if I have a lot of a single image, that may get it's own pocket.
Hey all, Jean Bean here, trying to stay optimistic.
Congrats to daughter 1, Catherine!!!!!! I wonder what the rhythm portion of the try out entailed. Hmmmmm. Ask her, please, what she had to do.
The exterminator is coming tomorrow. I saw my little friend last night as I was watching tv. Usually he scoots so quickly that I feel like I imagined him. Last night he moseyed through the room, like he had all the time in the world. I don't live in the country, never have, but I did have mice in the last house I owned.
I went to Mirren's open house last night. They do school pictures, bring their supplies, meet the teacher. The teacher that she should have had this year, same as last year, retired so she has a new teacher. There are two schools in the same building, both public but Mirren's is more of a charter school, small class sizes. I think her teacher came from the other school downstairs. He seems very nice. It was great to see some of Liz and Scott's friends and their kids, who I have known for a few years. Tonight is Clare's open house, I've never seen the inside of her school so I want to go to that too. for some reason, her band concerts have been held at the high school.
One very strange thing is that every year, the week before school, some kind of road work starts around there and messes with parking and getting to the school to drop kids off. Every year the parents tear their hair out....the city had all summer to do this road work. Why???????? I surely would like to know why, since I might be doing some of the dropping off and picking up.
No news about my kidney stone. i see a urologist on Thursday and hope to get some answers and plans. See you all later.
__________________ Jean Bean the Dancing Queen "You can play a shoestring if you're sincere." -John Coltrane
I'm here and trying to keep up on reading but don't post very often. It's hard to sit still. My left leg and foot continue to swell and we haven't gotten to the bottom of it yet. Is it related to my jaw issues and that tooth under the gums, or is it related to the back surgery? No one has an answer but it's not just the swelling, I get pain because of the swelling. I have a regular check up with my primary doc on the 11th of September so we'll see what he has to say. The back doctor put me on a medicine to help calm the nerve endings. I haven't noticed a difference. I take one a day and on Thursday I go to two a day. If there's still no difference I'm not doing three a day.
Good morning! I'm running late this morning, it was a rough night....why? I don't know! I finally made an appointment yesterday to see my eye doctor. I don't remember the last time I had my eyes checked. DH needed me to pick up his contacts so I made my appointment at the same time. Now to get DD2 to make her appointment.
Wow, Melody, at taking care of the mice!
I also look forward to photos of your project.
DD1's address is very similar but her room number is different so that is a small change.
Jean, I will ask her. She got too much into her head is what she said and that caused her to mess it up.
How nice that you were able to attend the open house and meet the teacher etc. That is wonderful. As for the road work, you'd think they'd get their act together and do it over the summer. It is challenging enough for parents to do drop off and pick up without the road work! I know I've made the mistake of driving near a school at one of those times and it was challenging to just get by!
Kathy, hoping you are doing better!
Well, there goes my alarm so I must run. Chat with you later!
Kathy - I hadn't seen your post when I made the above one. I'm sorry that they haven't figured out what is causing that. DH recently had his ankles swelling which is a completely new thing for him. He had been donating platelets and they were putting some sort of anti clotting thing in his blood when he was doing that. He researched and found that the swelling ankles was a side effect of that anti clotting stuff so he won't be donating platelets any longer as he doesn't want that happening.
Kathy so sorry to hear you are having such problems, I really hope they can find out what’s wrong at your next appointment.
Jean we have a visitor according to Steve , a gecko, he saw something run this morning and moved the chair to see what it was, he said it’s very tiny, I hope we find it before we go away as might die.
Catherine congrats to your DD1.
weather has cooled a few degrees since yesterday so the evenings are quite comfortable thankfully.
Kathy, I am so sorry to hear about the swelling. I’m glad your doctor appointment is soon, even though it will probably feel like forever because of your pain. Prayers for answers soon.
we have had day after day of high allergy weather, whether it’s hot (last week) or perfect (this week). I’ve had headaches every day. My left eye dries out and hurts and no amount of drops seems to help. At the pharmacy today I was told they are running out of allergy medicines. There was one left of my usual kind, and only a two-week box at that; but at least I have some now.
My ledge by the door to the building hallway now has a kitchen scene on it. I finished the playroom finally so I’ll put that up tomorrow evening.
Noella is finally done growing. She’s little but solid as a rock. I think she may be around 10 pounds. She’s getting more affectionate now. Pictures below!
im sorry some are sideways!
__________________ Kandie
*
Phil. 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
The following 5 users liked this post by Kemernow:
Good morning, everyone. Another high allergy day but I’m prepared today!
Kathy, how are you today?
The ladies come by to see what’s out on the shelf all the time. They bring friends and relatives. The one lady across the hall has a request from her granddaughter to tell her every time something is changed, and to take a picture. Today I’ll change over to the playroom. These big dolls are called Rainbow High ball-joint dolls and they are 11 inches tall. I call them the parents. The “children” are also ball-joint dolls (bjd) and are 6 inches in height.
How is everyone today? It’s 60 out here and supposed to get only up to 70. Some of the tree leaves are starting to change. Everyone is in Autumn mode already.
__________________ Kandie
*
Phil. 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
The following 3 users liked this post by Kemernow:
Kandie, good to see your smiling face.
The bird thing was sooooooo goofy. Thanks for sharing.
Your kitchen scene is so cute. Where did you get the furniture? It's like a little doll house.
Exterminator comes today for the mice.
House is ready to wrap with Tyvek.
I now can park in the back because the gravel finally got smoothed out. Since I have no front porch because of repair to the house, I can't go out my front door. Can't wait for new porches to be built. I hope we have good fall weather so the house stuff can move on. I'll feel a lot better once the siding is on.
Status quo for the kidney stone....it seems to like where it is. I can't imagine I'll pass it without considerable pain.
That's my story.
__________________ Jean Bean the Dancing Queen "You can play a shoestring if you're sincere." -John Coltrane
Jean, I’ve missed so much. I knew you moved. Did you know all this was happening at the new place? Except for the mice, of course. I imagine it’s so much nicer to be nearer to your relatives.
The doll sink unit and table and chairs came from Ukraine. Also a China hutch that I have in the dining room layout. Many of the things on the sink unit came from Etsy. There are so many Etsy shops that specialize in miniature dollhouse items. I had no idea. Many are handmade and definitely not cheap. I seem to have turned into a collector.
__________________ Kandie
*
Phil. 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
The following 3 users liked this post by Kemernow:
Jean, I’ve missed so much. I knew you moved. Did you know all this was happening at the new place? Except for the mice, of course. I imagine it’s so much nicer to be nearer to your relatives.
The doll sink unit and table and chairs came from Ukraine. Also a China hutch that I have in the dining room layout. Many of the things on the sink unit came from Etsy. There are so many Etsy shops that specialize in miniature dollhouse items. I had no idea. Many are handmade and definitely not cheap. I seem to have turned into a collector.
Unfortunately we found out about the mice after I moved in. I've been here a month. They did a ton to the inside of the house, thinking that was the main stuff to do but the exterior has been a huge project, ongoing. The house had asbestos siding (built in the 50's). When they discovered that all the windows needed to be replaced, much of the siding started to crumble off. So off came the siding. Then they discovered previous damage from termites. They knew that the previous owners dealt with termites but no idea of the damage they caused on three sides of the house. My son in law has been taking out damaged wood and replacing it. The house is now ready to be wrapped with Tyvek and the new siding has been sitting in the backyard for weeks. The porches need to be rebuilt as they are unsafe for a 71 year old so Scott will build deck type porches. This house was really neglected over the years and I really think my family is saving this house from falling down. Houses in LaCrosse are quite a wide variety of styles and quality. It's a very eclectic community as opposed to the antiseptic community I came from. A lot of diversity here. Except for about 10 years of my life, I've only lived in a village. A large village, but a village. I never experienced that until I went to college in Milwaukee.
As you read, I had to visit the ER for a kidney stone. No idea I had one, never had one before. I still have it, have had no pain for two weeks, not sure I can pass it. I see the doc tomorrow. Always something, right?
Noella is adorable, such a solid little dog. so good to hear from you, Kandie.
__________________ Jean Bean the Dancing Queen "You can play a shoestring if you're sincere." -John Coltrane
Kathy, so sorry to hear that your legs are still swelling. I hope your Dr. can give you some answers in September. Hugs
Catherine, sorry you had a rough night. So annoying when that happens! I need to schedule an eye Dr. appointment, too. Have a good day.
Jean, I hope things progress on your house quickly before winter sets in. I hope that kidney stone stays put and doesn't cause you any pain.
Jan, glad things are cooling down for you. We've had a cool down, but the weekend ahead looks very hot!
Kandie, so good to see your post! Love your little scenes! Also that Noella is adorable...I love the photo of her snuggling in your sock! That bird video was hilarious!
I have to run...off to my mom's for the day!
__________________ Judy aka Gracie "Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud." Maya Angelou
The following 3 users liked this post by JRHolbrook:
Jean, I’m so glad your family is there to help with the house. It’s going to be charming when they are done, by the sound of things!
Hi Gracie! Enjoy your time with your mom!
it’s Wednesday, so I’ve changed the ledge scene. I will move the dolls around each day and take toys or books down or put them back, just for fun. I’ll add some punched paper leaves to the walls once it turns September.
(I see a book fell down already!)
__________________ Kandie
*
Phil. 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
The following 2 users liked this post by Kemernow:
Good morning! I have been under a time crunch with extra appointments (have to leave early today too) so didn't have a chance to pop in yesterday morning. Nothing exciting to report, just work and home life. Enjoying hanging out with DD2 when we can.
I'm praying that our guest is able to find housing. She thinks she might have a place lined up.
DD1 has given herself a very busy Wednesday schedule between classes and voice and piano lessons.
Kandie, love the photos of your miniature scenes on your shelf. Adorable and so beautifully done. I'm not surprised that your scenes are a draw as people want to see what you've done next. Also love the photos of Noella. She is so cute too!
Kathy, praying the swelling has gone down and for answers for you soon.
Jean, thankful you don't have pain with the kidney stone, you are fortunate! I asked DD1 about the rhythm section of her audition. She had music in front of her and the instructor gave her the tempo and she was to clap for the notes as they would be sung. This is something she can do but she got in her own head and psyched herself out.
Gracie, have you scheduled that eye appointment yet?
Hi
