Scrapbook Room Is All Done

I have finally completed my scrapbook room. I special ordered two counters. One is 10 feet long and the other is eight feet long. On one counter I have my home office and the other is my scrapbook area. At the Habitat home improvement center I found 3 used cabinets that would work perfectly. I sanded them down and then painted them white. They were originally kitchen cabinets and work perfectly for what I wanted.

Over the past year I have been buying the craft cubes one at a time. I finally have enough to store all of my materials plus they look great. The one blank wall will eventually have a futon which will double as a guest room. Right now it just has Misty's pillow where she sleeps while I work.

I added the Making Memories wall center which I picked up at Michael's with one of my 40% off coupons. On the other side of the window is my memory and inspiration board. I painted the frame white and then put in a piece of sheet metal. It is completely magnetic and a great place to hang memorabilia and inspiration items.

I'm still having some issue with cords. The wall plug under the computer area is not working so I have to run power from the other wall. My handyman is coming next week to replace the plug. I'll then be able to hide the plugs in the white box. I drilled holes on each side of the counter so I could run cords from the top to the bottom. This works really well and home depot even had the inserts to put in the holes.

I'm really proud of my do it yourself room. It took me a while but it is finally done.

Will Gustav Come Our Way

Well yesterday I would have said Gustav was going to Texas but today they moved it slightly to the east. We are still only on the fringes but we'll get the wind and maybe some rain. And we will get this Labor Day weekend. This reminds me of many years ago when I bought my first house in Tampa in the late 70's. The week after I moved in we had my one and only threat of a hurricane during my tenure in Tampa. It was Labor Day weekend also. I ended up with a house full of people for a few days and got my entire house interior painted with all of the extra help. It was a great party and the hurricane never came on shore. I hope the same holds true for this weekend. But at least I have all of the supplies this time.

These two layouts are from tonight's scrap and dash and art bar projects. It's always fun to get out and have this creative burst midweek. All I have to do is bring the photos and they have everything set up to create the layouts.

I'm almost finished cleaning and moving my scrapbook room around. Photos tomorrow because I will be done tomorrow if it kills me. My goal is to have my entire house spic and span by Monday.

Had a doctor appointment today for my monthly B12 shot and this should help with my energy level. They also did a blood test to see if my levels have come up. My B12 anemia deficiency should be at 600. Three months ago it was 100. This definitely is to low. If it has not come up significantly I am going to have to go to twice a month shots. As the nurse explained it to me, my levels are so low that when I get my shot my body says oh boy there is some B12 and eats it all up and I don't have anything left for the rest of the month. This according to the doctor is a hereditary problem. The crux of it is that by mid-day I am exhausted and can't do anything. So hopefully we'll resolve this soon because the past couple of days have been awful and the shot I had today will take about 48 hours to work. So hopefully this will pass soon.

2007 Birthday Book

I have been working on this book since March. I have finally finished it and love how it turned out. I used Creative Cafe products for the entire book. Enjoy.

Gray Skies Again

We are still getting the effects of Fay. The skies are gray and we have gotten a lot of rain. I thought we were in the clear today and so Jackie, Barbara and I were going to plant mom's new shrubs. As soon as we got started the rain came and boy was it a downpour.

It was probably for the best since when we actually got to digging we found that her planter bed was filled with red ants. These guys are nasty and they are fast to bite as my feed will attest to. I ran home and got some ant killer but the planting had to be put off. It will take several days for the ant killer to work so we can get back to the planting.

Spent the rest of the day treating my feet with deodorant. Yes that was my sister's solution and guess what it worked. I settled in with a good book and a nap. A perfect way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon.

I also spent some time thinking about Lucas. Happy birthday little guy.

Hope everyone has a great Saturday.

Happy Birthday Lucas

Happy Birthday Lucas. Today is your special day. (Well actually tomorrow but I am writing this on the eve of your birthday.) Two years ago we were all so excited about your arrival. I could not wait to see you. You are such a special little boy.

I have been working on your photo album. I have gotten a little behind and knew that I had to get your first year going. I have done so many pages on you but had not done your first days. So here are the first few days of your life. Can you tell how you are loved.

Right now you can't really remember your grandma but one day you will and you will know how much I love you. Your daddy says I can not call or write to you so the only way I have to wish you a happy birthday is to do so on my blog and my diary blog. I know you can't read but someday you will be able to and you will know how I feel.

Since I can't write to you or send you a birthday present I have bought you a $100 Savings Bond and one day I will be able to give it to you. I also have an ABC album for you but that to shall have to wait. Love Grandma.

Happy Birthday Mom

We celebrated mom's birthday today. I took mom to lunch and to two quilt shops. We didn't buy much but did have a good time. We also figured out how to finish a purse mom has been working on for several months. We had to go back to the quilt shop to get the final directions.

Tonight Jackie made dinner and I grilled the pork chops and it made for a great dinner. We played cards afterward and then gave mom this fantastic birthday cake. It was so good and we'll probably be eating it again on Saturday.

Our gift to mom is to replant her planter in front of her house. All of her bushes had died and it has been bugging her so on Saturday the three of us are going to plant brand new bushes. I hope the humidity goes down by Saturday.

We have been having some beautiful sunsets this week because of Tropical Storm Fay. Just wanted to share a little beauty with everyone.

Back To Normal

I think things are back to normal after Fay. The porch is all put back together, the trash has been picked up (a day late) and most of the supplies have been put back on the shelf. Went to water aerobics this morning and there were only four of us. I guess the gray skies kept everyone away but I must say it felt really good to work out and get those muscles going.

Went to Scrap and Dash tonight. After all it is Wednesday. One layout celebrates some of the women in my life and the other highlights my grandson Jack. Thanks everyone for the support on that issue.

Many people wanted to know if I thought it was worth the evacuation. All I can say is that if we had not gone when Sarasota Country ordered the evacuation I am sure that Fay would have come directly at us. Sure it was a lot of bother and expense but none of that matters if my family is safe and that is all that matters. We did choose a hotel over a shelter. I just can not image going to a middle school and taking all of the bedding you need plus putting Misty in a cage and leaving her in a room full of other dogs. We would just not have been comfortable. Many people where I live did not evacuate and the next time I wonder if they do stay and something happens how devastating that will be for everyone. It is always better to be safe, so yes, I'll evacuate the next time. I just hope there is not a next time.

Where is Fay going next?

Where will Fay go next? That is the biggest question of the day.

Living in Florida we accept the consequences of hurricane season but this is the first time that I have faced the challenge. I lived in Tampa and Clearwater for 25 years and never saw a hurricane or tropical storm. What a lot of work it is to get ready. There are trips to Home Depot and Publix. You have to have the supplies. Next you have to take everything inside. This includes trash cans, grills, hoses, recycling bins and bicycles.

You pack up all of your valuables and important papers and head to a hotel. I was freaking out about my scrapbooks. There was no room to take them with me so I packed them all in water tight storage bins and hoped for the best. I put some in the refrigerator (my mom's idea because these rarely get wet) and the stove. I walked out the door and hoped for the best.

At the hotel right down the street were people just like me and my sister and mom. All hoping for the best. Most of these people were from Camelot so we knew a lot of people. Misty was the official greeter. She loved the adventure.

When we woke up this morning we knew that we had gotten lucky. Fay headed to Fort Myers instead of Sarasota. In fact we did not even get a drop of rain. We had wind and the Sky's were gray but no rain. After leaving the hotel I decided to drive out to the beach to check out the waves. Guess what there were no waves. I was so disappointed. The beach looked as it always does, nice and calm.

So another day in paradise. Yes but paradise comes with 90 degree temperatures and 90 percent humidity and that is exactly what we had today. Was all the work and expense worth the evacuation. Yes it was because we are all safe. Fay could have come to visit.

Today I just took it easy and caught up on my sleep. That is what gray sky's and rainy days are for. We just didn't get he rain.

We're moving out

Tropical storm Fay is bearing down on us and Sarasota County has ordered a mandatory evacuation for all mobile home owners. So we are leaving mid-day tomorrow for a hotel. I was able to get a hotel so we do not have to go to a shelter. It is a bit complicated with Misty and this will work out better.

If you need to reach me you can call 941-3501367 or 1377 I can't remember.

We've gone through the checklist and I think we have it together. I am totally freaking out about my photos so all of my albums are in plastic bins. At least I can try. I haven't been to the store and that is going to be a nightmare in the morning. Guess I am getting up early.

Wish us luck. With any luck it will go out into the Gulf.

Almost Done

Construction is almost done. The guest bathroom is done and the master bathroom is almost done. All they have to do is to install the threshold. Would you believe they couldn't find the threshold and now have to buy a new one. They worked Friday night until 7:30 and it was just to late to go buy a new one and then get it installed. I spent most of the day yesterday scrubbing the two bathrooms. You would not believe the amount of dirt and dust they created. But both are now sparkling.

The new counter top in my scrapbook room is installed and now I am working on getting this space together. I have emptied my desk but it is still sitting in the middle of the room. I have two trash bags full of stuff. Why do we hold onto all of this stuff. Hopefully I will get the desk out of the room tomorrow and work can really begin.

The two layouts above are from Scrap and Dash this week. Kim did an awesome job on the design of these layouts. These three little boys are so adorable and I love them so much.

Mom made dinner for us last night and it was great. We played some cards afterward. Yesterday morning we had breakfast at the clubhouse for the monthly get together. Tried exercising afterward but the thunder and lightening came to visit.

Watching Fay closely. As you can see on the forecast Sarasota is right in the middle of the path. I'm getting my kit together in case we have to evacuate. Keep your fingers crossed. Have a good weekend everyone. I am going to go play bingo and relax on this Sunday.

Thanks For the Support

Thank you everyone for your support over the past week. It means everything to me. Enough said, that's done.

I still have construction workers in my house. They are still not done. They are the slowest workers I have ever seen. The contractor must be paying them by the hour because it seems like they are here but nothing seems to get done. We have finished the guest bathroom except for the molding around the ceiling line. Yeah. Today they started on the soft floor in the master bathroom. Even though they are slow they do really good work.

Tom it was good talking to you this past weekend. Hope your birthday was a good one and that you are now feeling better.

Played bingo last night and boy were we lucky. Mom, Jackie and I each won two bingo's. That six between us. It is always so much more fun to win. Thanks Mom for making the sandwiches.

Hope everyone has been enjoying the Olympics. I think I have watched every hour of it. Our athletes are amazing. I am also so impressed by the Chinese. I just wish their methods were better.

I'm a little behind in posting the balance of my July layouts so here they are.

Missing in Action

Well I've been gone for awhile. No excuses except that my heart just wasn't into putting my feelings on paper or cyberspace as it is. My life has been in complete turmoil for the past month.

A big factor for me has been this bathroom repair. My bathroom has now been torn up for almost a month. We are gearing into the finish line I think but boy has this been a job. My contractor is a big talker and no action. He finally has a guy that knows what he is doing and I think we just might get this done. They have gotten the floor repaired and all of the mold is gone. The new window is in and the drywall is up. The final sand was today so my entire house has a layer of dust. This will be a big job to clean up. The tile has been laid and the grout is in. Tomorrow John is going to paint the walls and put in the baseboards and the toilet may even go back in. Now you may think this is then end. But . . .

The other bathroom has a soft floor. What this means is that the floor is deteriorating and could fall through at any time. So they have to tear out this floor and put in a new one. This will be much simpler I think because they have no mold issues and foundation issues. So I think the master bathroom will be done by next Tuesday but I am not going to hold my breath.

We've had some really bad storms and I had no telephone or Internet for several days. Got all of that back today. The street light in front of my house was hit by lightning. The boom was so loud I thought it hit the house. According to Verizon it actually fried my telephone box and they had to replace it with a new one.

I had a really heartwarming phone call today. A gentleman called and asked for Jim and I gave him the sad news. The person was actually a student of Jim's from 45 years ago in Kalamazoo. He told me that they had had a reunion and were talking about teachers. He said Jim's name came up and they talked about what a great teacher he was. This James said he just decided to see if he could find Jim and see how he was. The student told me how much his students thought of him and they all had great stories to tell at the reunion. It warms my heart that there are people out there that have such great memories of my Jim. It was great talking to this student.

I'll be better with blogging and promise to post some scrapbook pages and photos of my finished bathrooms. Life doesn't always hand us roses but please I could use less lemons.

Loved Mamma Mia

I went to see Mamma Mia last night and absolutely loved it. I knew this would be an emotional movie for me because it was Jim's favorite stage play. Anyone who knew him knew he loved Abba. He played the soundtrack all of the time. I even had Dancing Queen played at the beginning of his funeral.

Yes I cried during parts of it but it was because I was thinking of Jim. But it is such a feel good movie. I want to go back sometime this week and see it again because I don't think it will hit me so badly the next time. There were so many funny parts of the movie.

The reviewers panned it but they are all men and they just don't get it. Who cares if Pierce can't sing. It is just fun to watch and feel your feet moving on their own. Jim would have loved the movie.

The Sun Was Shinning

Well the sun came back out today so I was able to get back in the pool for exercise class and boy did

it feel good. It really is a great way to start the day. I hung out for awhile and soaked up some sun.

Didn't do much else today. Washed the floors and cleaned the kitchen and did some laundry. Really boring but it had to be done. Other than that I did not do much. I was having a hard time getting motivated after all that housework.

These layouts were from last nights Creative Cafe meeting. What a great time just hanging out with friends and being creative. Thanks Karen for a great class.

Looking forward to Mama Mia tomorrow. Jim loved this play. We saw it several years ago with the original cast in Chicago. I know he's dancing to Dancing Queen right now.

Livin In The Tropics

Now that it has been raining for the past week it seems that when the sun does come out that the ground just steams and oh it is awful. When you step out of the house it is like a steam bath. You immediately start to sweat. Not ladylike but man like. November can't come soon enough for me.

The top two layouts are from our trip to Georgia. The third one is of Heather playing with both dogs. Misty looks a little jealous. Scrap and dash from yesterday was beachie so I used photos from last year that I had not scrapped yet. These layouts were such fun to make.

Today was chore day. Did some laundry and a little house cleaning. Only found 2 jobs to send resumes in on. I don't know what I am going to do with this job business. Does anyone know of a job out there. I'll work hard and be a great employee.

Nothing happened today on the house repair. Hopefully tomorrow something will get going. I don't think it is supposed to rain tomorrow.

Bathroom construction

This is really an ugly mess to have going on right now. It has been raining solid for 3 days and work has now come to a standstill. The siding can not come off the house until the rain stops and we do not know when that will be. The mold and rot has gone all the way through the floor and you can actually see outside. We are going to have to go under the cabinet and maybe into the dining room.

The worst part is that the insurance company says that work has to be done by Friday or they will cancel my policy. They do not understand the rain constraints we are under and frankly they don't care. Big insurance companies against the people. And there is nothing I can do about this. But we will keep working at it and go from there.

Mostly kept working with the contractor and looking for a job in the afternoon. This is wearing me down but I am not going to let it. Went to Scrap and Dash to get away from it all. I'll show you the results tomorrow.

Been doing a little scrappin

I've been doing a little scrapping over the past week. The two 4th of July layouts were last week's S%D and they turned out great. I love scrapping by 3 wonderful grandchildren. They are such good subjects and they love to look at their albums. It is so wonderful for them to see where they have been and to remember such good times. I hope someday they will treasure them as much as I have loved making them for them to enjoy.

It is so rare to get a nice smiling face out of my nephew Rick. He is always making his funny faces and guess what we got a normal face. You just have to love it.

Did a little water aerobics this morning. It is such a great way to start the day. Once I was home it was back in job hunting mode. I found several that fit my qualifications so I spent most of the day revising my resume for each job. You have to get these key words in.

Tonight was game night at the pool. Everyone brings a sack dinner and just hangs out on the veranda around the pool. I spent some time in the pool and hot tub. Jackie was playing cards and mom was playing domino's. What a great way to spend a few hours on Monday night. When Jim and I decided to buy here we knew we were buying a lifestyle and this is what it is all about. It is great for me because I get out and enjoy people instead of staying in and watching TV. I am perfectly content to do that but I do not want to get caught in that rut. Jim wanted this for us and now I don't have him and it is just hard. It is hard to get motivated and hard to face my life without him. We did everything together and I miss him so.

I guess I'm feeling a little sad tonight. Sorry, tomorrow will be better.

Living with construction

Well they started ripping up my bathroom this weekend. What a mess. Friday they brought in mold machines and sealed the bathroom. They actually put plastic over the bathroom door and to get in you have to unzip and step through. The machines make the room about 150 degrees. On Saturday Tim tore out the wall and carted away the molded materials. I picked out new flooring and paint. Tomorrow they take off the siding. That is if it does not rain. I'll take pictures tomorrow of the mess.

This layout is of my little curious Luke. He was having such fun investigating the deck of my friend Adrienne's. He was so happy and proud of himself. I miss my three little grandchildren so much. Jack, Josh and Luke I love you all so much. Just know that grandma is sending you great big grandma hugs.