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Happy Thanksgiving from Ashland, Oregon

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It’s hard to believe but we’ve been in Oregon for nearly a week. Our goal was to get Sarah and Adam settled, and we’ve made remarkable progress. All the rooms are arranged and organized, all the boxes have been unpacked, and Tracy has nearly all the artwork and photographs hung. We’re planning a pretty low-key Thanksgiving celebration with plenty of time to rest and relax. I’ll have photos of our accomplishments later.

Sarah and Adam are renting a lovely home with quite a beautiful yard and view.

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This is the view from their living room. They have the same view from the kitchen and family room, as well as a lovely deck off the family room.

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The yard is large, but has a steep drop-off.

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In addition to unpacking, Tracy and Adam got some great help in putting up a new fence  in the backyard. Sadie is delighted with the room to run around. Amazingly, a deer leaped over the fence last night, and put Sadie in a fury of excitement. After some time, the deer leaped back over the fence and disappeared.

Ashland is a beautiful small city surrounded by mountains. We were a bit worried about driving up from San Francisco since there had been snow in the Siskiyou Pass where chains are often required. In anticipation we upgraded our rental vehicle to a 4X4 SUV. Fortunately, we didn’t need it, but it’s easy to see why you might. From Siskiyou Summit to Ashland, there’s a drop in elevation of more than 2,000 feet in a pretty short amount of time. It was pitch dark when we drove through last Friday, but the headlights of the traffic lit up the towering, snow-covered evergreens against a star-lit sky. Truly a beautiful sight.

After church on Sunday, we decided to drive up to Mt. Ashland. It was a beautiful, clear day in Ashland, but we found a totally different environment on the road up to the summit.

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Clouds totally obscured the summit, but there were some beautiful views of the valley as we drove down.

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I hope you and your family are enjoying a wonderful holiday if you’re in the States. I love the opportunity to be with family and take stock of all my many blessings. Being able to travel and spend time with Sarah and Adam is top on my list today. I’m also grateful to Matt’s friends in Denver for including him in their Thanksgiving festivities.

 

 

Happy Anniversary

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I have a couple of anniversary cards that I don't think I've shared here. The first one I made the same day I made the get well card I posted earlier this week. I like the versatility of these stamps, and it's easy to make a couple of  cards at once when all the supplies are out.

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The first few times I used the "Framed" stamps I had some difficulty with them, but I finally seem to be able to get a clear impression the first time. The little pot is from "Everyday Button Bits."

Here's another anniversary card with a totally different feel. This was for our dear friends who've been married now for 63 years!

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More beautiful papers from the Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden Collection, and a sentiment stamp from "Round and Round" by Papertrey Ink. I used some nested heart dies to cut out a burlap and then a felt heart, added a button, and a stick pin from Maya Road (I think.) I have all my stick pins in a pretty glass jar so I'm not always sure which manufacturer to credit!

We're off tomorrow to the west coast for a few days. I'm really looking forward to seeing Sarah and Adam's new home as well as their new surroundings. We'll be back in California before we return for Adam's ordination service, and have an extra day at the end to spend in Berekley and San Francisco before we return. I'm planning to post a few times while we're away, but it's always a bit unpredictable!

Project 64: Purple Mountain Majesty

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This week's color at Project 64 was Purple Mountain Majesty. I was always lucky enough to have a big box of crayons when I was growing up, but I'm quite sure there was not any crayon with such an elegant name back then. Purple has been a favorite color of mine recently, and there are many shades and hues of it. The first item that caught my eye this week was my iPhone cover.

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I've also purchased a striped turtleneck and vest this fall, but neither were quite the right purple. My new coat, however, and scarf that I purchased a year ago in California are quite right, and I'll be linking this photo over at Project 64.

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I must say that it's a bit harder to find colors now that nature's colors are much fewer and much less bright! I looked for Purple Mountain Majesty on all our walks last week, but there was nothing purple left in anyone's gardens. This week's color is orange, and it's a bit easier to find!

Get Well Cards

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Sadly, I seem to have more and more reasons to make a get well and feel better cards. Here are two recent ones.

 

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No matter how I tried, I couldn't get the felt colors to photograph true to life. The flower is the same color as the background behind the card, and the button is an Orange Zest one from Papertrey Ink. In fact, all the supplies from this cards are from Papertrey. They are definitely my "go-to" stamps and dies.

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I love paper-piecing this little chair and like the accompanying sentiment as well. The chair and lamp are from "Chairished" (PTI) and the sentiment is from "On My Couch Additions." I never purchased the original "On My Couch," but got the additions which I've used frequently. 

It's a gray and dreary day here; more like the November I remember from past years than the bright, sunny days we've been enjoying. Hope it's bright and cheerful where you are!

With Sympathy

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Sympathy cards are the hardest cards to make, I think. I want them to be a bit elegant, yet clean and simple and to convey my heartfelt sympathy to the recipient. I used the "let the paper work for you" technique again here, and I think it worked well.

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I started with a journaling card by Webster's Pages, stamped the sentiment (Papertrey Ink's Birds of a Feather), and tied a ribbon (Paper Source) around the Memory Box card. I can always find an appropriate sentiment for the inside in Papertrey's With Sympathy set. 

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For this card I used a piece of paper from Pink Paislee's "Butterfly Garden" mini-pad adhered to some Ripe Avocado cardstock by Papertrey Ink. These printed papers are almost gone now, and I wish I had some more of them. I used the same stamp, and my last piece of moss green ribbon from Paper Source.

We've kept up the frantic pace around here. The basement has been cleaned and purged; many bags to the garbage and to Goodwill. There's still a large box of heirloom items from my family that need to be cleaned and appraised after the holidays, but finally everything has a place and is packed away in plastic boxes or bags so they won't need so much cleaning in the future.

I've just about finished two baby albums, but they can't be shown here for awhile as well as another banner for a second shower. About half my Christmas cards are finished. The rest will have to wait until I return from California and Oregon with a fresh supply of paper from Paper Source. Invitations to a holiday open house are also completed so they can be mailed before we leave.

The subway tiles were installed in the kitchen last week, and they look fantastic. We're still waiting for the painters, but I'm hopeful they'll show up this week though our contractor has yet to get a firm commitment from them. Maybe because it's the last thing that needs to be done (except for a final finish on the floor), and maybe because it's now been twice as long as the original estimate of time, but this delay is the most frustrating one we've had. I never expected I'd be decorating for the holidays and the kitchen would not be completed. But, that too, is happening since we'll be entertaining shortly after we return. I do love decorating for Christmas, but it seems odd to be moving from summer decorations right to Christmas. I never did get the fall decorations out. With the construction, it seemed rather pointless. Our unusually warm November temperatures also make decorating for the holiday seem a bit odd.

I'm doing the best I can to keep up with all your wonderful blog posts, but once I'm on our trip I should be able to catch up!

Thank You Card Set

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Both Rinda and Jacky have posted recently about letting patterned paper work for you, and stamping directly on paper. I did a bit of both with this set of thank you cards to three friends who gifted me with a wonderful children's book and painted stool for Skylar. A painted stool for Caleb is in the works. 

I love these patterned papers from the mini pad "Sunshine" Lost and Found by My Minds Eye. All three papers came from the pad and were adhered to Vintage Cream cardstock by Papertrey Ink. The stamps were Fillable Frames #1 and #11 (sentiment). The nice thing about cards like this is once you pick the papers, the cards come together very easily.

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And Happy Veteran's Day, and a heartfelt thanks to all the veterans who have defended our freedom throughout the years!

Project 64: Dandelion and More iPhone Fun

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This week's color at Project 64 has been dandelion. I was pretty amazed to find dandelions still blooming as we walked to our polling place to vote yesterday. All four of these photos were taken with the iPhone (we keep track of our walks on an app called Runkeeper so I always have my iPhone with me), and for the first time, I edited them on the iPhone as well with an app called Photogene. It was pretty easy, and then I used an app called Frame It that Adam told me about to gather them into a collage. The VW was in the shadows so I used an app I downloaded for free this morning called Camera Flash which lightened it right up. I find these apps so amazing. For some reason I've felt rather intimidated by the thought of editing a photo on the phone itself. Should have been trying this a long time ago!

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This is the photo I'm posting at Project 64, taken with the Hipstamatic app at a cute little deli in Mt. Morris where we had a yummy lunch last week. The colors were so cheerful!

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Bear!!!

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Meet Samuel Bear Harrison, Adam's sister's new baby boy. Allison and her husband, Simon, live in England, and Adam's parents arrived just after he was born. Perfect timing! He sure is a cutie pie!

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I couldn't resist buying him a little outfit embroidered with bears, a long-sleeved onesie, a hat, bib and adorable little socks. I forgot to take a photo of it, but I did take a photo of the package with the card I made.

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I cut the card with my Silhouette using cute gingham paper by Memory Box. Then I stamped the little bear from Papertrey Ink's Baby Button Bits on brown gingham paper and added a button from my stash tied with some twine by Martha Stewart.

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JustRite Friday Challenge

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It's been awhile since I've participated in a challenge, but when I saw the JustRite challenge for a thank you card, I knew just which JustRite stamps to pull out. "Autumn Blessings" has been a long time favorite so it was fun to pull it out again.

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After coloring the image with Copic markers and adding a bit of glitter with Copic glitter pens to the vines, I cut the image with an oval Nestability. I stamped the border separately, and cut it with two oval Nestabilities at the same time to create a frame I could pop up with dimensional tape. I colored the acorns with Copic glitter pens as well. Then I cut a strip of burlap and frayed each edge and wrapped it around two pieces of patterned paper from Lost and Found "Sunshine." (My Minds Eye) I've nearly used all the papers in this pad; it's been a real favorite this fall. I layered it all on a textured American Craft cardstock base. I know just who's getting this card!

Baby Shower Scrapbook

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I found this amazing jungle scrapbook by BoBunny at the Buffalo stamp store in September, and couldn't pass it up. I had no idea what I might do with it, but I'm sure glad I grabbed it. It turned out to be the perfect format for Sarah's shower scrapbook. After all the guests wrote their tags out, I printed a photo of each of them that Tracy had taken with Sarah that afternoon. The tag and the photo fit perfectly on a Grand Nestability Scalloped Circle die which fit perfectly into the scrapbook. 

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 The bottom photo is of Sarah and her babysitter who is still like family to us!

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The album came with several adorable chipboard animal faces which I used as dividers for the pages.

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Sarah liked the animals so much she asked me to buy a second album so she can hang the faces on the nursery wall. Fortunately, the store still had an album left when we stopped there on our way home from Canada recently. I'm really pleased with the way this turned out, and think it makes a good record of a lovely afternoon.

Baby Shower for Sarah

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Sarah and Adam left almost two weeks ago, and time has flown by, partly because we had to be out of the house for the better part of two days while the hardwood floors in the  kitchen and hall were redone. They are beautiful, and Jack spent three days installing the hutch near the window, and the crown molding. This week the tile guy, the painters, and the siding folks all arrive, and we should be done except for the final coat on the floor. The contractor took all his tools out of the kitchen and powder room on Friday, and we finally have our kitchen back for the weekend, at least.

The first day Sarah was here I hosted a baby shower for her. It was so much fun to have  so many of our good friends here to celebrate with her. The day after Sarah and Adam left was the anniversary of Micah and Judah’s birth and death; a sharp reminder of the grief and trials of the last year for all of us, but especially for Sarah and Adam. It was wonderful to be celebrating the upcoming birth of Caleb Elijah, and so good to know that everything is going very well this time around.

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I put together a collage of some of the photos. Sarah has chosen a jungle theme for the nursery and it was a lot of fun choosing and making decorations for the shower. The cake was fabulous. All the little animals marching around the cake came from the design of the paper products. It was a pumpkin spice cake and as delicious as it was cute. The cookies were made by a friend of a friend and matched the food picks in the muffins (see below). The centerpiece had three little stuffed animals, the giraffe and lion as well as a monkey on the other side. The family photo shows four generations:  Tracy, his mother, Matt, and Sklar—and Betsy and me as well. (I wonder where Sarah was when this was taken?) Sadly the light over Tracy’s head doesn’t do much for the photo.

Here are some close-ups of the banner and some of the things I made for the shower. 

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Each guest was asked to fill out a tag with good wishes or advice for Sarah. Then Tracy took a photo of each guest with Sarah, and I've put them together in a scrapbook for her.

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I used my favorite fry-box die to make favors we filled with chocolate-covered almonds.

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These cute papers from My Minds Eye were just perfect for the jungle theme. I'll be back tomorrow with some photos of the scrapbook album I put together. I'll be taking it with me when we go to visit in a couple of weeks.

 

Project 64: Turquoises

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Turquoise was the color at Project 64 last week. I got the photos taken, but editing them was another matter. I'm getting this posted just under the wire—only a few hours left! I've been super busy with lots of projects, and lots of cleaning. The kitchen should be finished by the end of this coming week, and I've started cleaning up after all the construction workers. The electricians caused the biggest mess, but the new wiring was badly needed. Everything in one area of the basement was covered with measurable dust. I have lots of things to post, but haven't had time to edit any photos. Hopefully this week will be a little better.

So here are my captures for turquoise. First my nail technician. As soon as I saw her outfit, I knew I needed her photo, and she was glad to oblige.

 

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The next two photos are from a diner where Tracy and I had breakfast on Wednesday after an early morning shopping excursion to pick up some new speakers. When Matt left in May, he took his speakers with him, and we've been without ever since. Our favorite, local, store had an invitation only sale, and we took advantage of it. The neon lights were perfect, and I'm submitting the second one to Project 64.

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All three photos this week were taken with my iPhone. 

 

Project 64: Gold

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Just a quick post for my photos of gold for Project 64. I wanted to take a shot of my great-grandmother's pocket watch, but I can't find it. That's a bit worrisome. So I had to settle for a pretty little candle that sits in my studio and some gold thread.

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There's more gold to be found here.

October Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

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Once again, I nearly missed today's Papertrey Ink Blog Hop. Early this morning I saw a reference to it on someone else's blog and had time to create a card. I love this month's inspiration photo.

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My first inclination was to paper piece some pumpkins, but as I went through my Papertrey collection, I came upon Take Three: Fall, and decided to stamp each of the three pumpkins on a different piece of patterned paper from the Autumn Abundance collection. 

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Since I don't have a recipient in mind, I chose a sentiment from Everyday Button Bits so it can easily become a birthday card, a thank you card, or just a thinking of you card. The ribbon is Orange Zest (PTI), and the black rhinestones are from Kaiser. I'm off to check out the other entries on the blog hop, always a great source of inspiration!

October Recap & Pass the Book

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A bit (well, maybe more) about what’s been happening here. The first weekend of October, Tracy and I were in Lake Placid along with our good friends. Tracy and Bob did some hiking (more about that), and Cathy and I enjoyed some time in the shops in the area. It was a cold, rainy weekend, but beautiful, nonetheless.

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The following Wednesday, I began a class on learning how to use Lightroom 3, taught by one of the professional photographers and gallery partners at Image City. My friend, Nancy, and I attend their monthly photo critiques at the gallery. We’ve now had three classes (the last is this week), and I’m beginning to feel comfortable with the program. I had tried to teach myself how to use Lightroom 2, but got all confused about the catalog and how to import the photos. Now I have that mastered and must say it is a very powerful editing program, and much more affordable than full Photoshop. With Lightroom and PSE, I know I’ve got all I’ll ever need in the way of software.

I’ve prepared dinner for Interfaith Hospitality guests at our church, we’ve signed new wills (and taken our children to the lawyers to sign notary documents), attended two meetings in my role as chair of a Presbytery committee (two more to go before the end of the month), crafted with my friends and on my own, had lunch with college friends, attended an Arts & Lectures presentation, and moved back into the kitchen (though it is still not done & there will be more about that later as well.) Tracy and I redid our guest room. Tracy repainted it, and I chose the new bed linens, curtains, and decorations. We also spent a day in Ithaca, visiting our favorite Farmer’s Market, and hiking in Buttermilk Falls State Park.

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But the best part of the month was that both Sarah and Matt arrived on the 15th for a visit. Matt was here a week, and has returned (safely) to Denver. While he was here we spent a lot of time with Betsy and Skylar as well. It was so much fun to have everyone here. Sarah could barely keep her hands off Skylar. On the 16th, I hosted a baby shower for Sarah who is expecting a little boy in early January. It was a lovely event (more about that later). Our friends were so happy to have a chance to see her (as well as Matt), and it was lots of fun to have everyone together. I made the favors, a banner, and have started a scrapbook about the event. Sarah and I have spent quite a bit of time in baby stores, and I’ve had a lovely time picking up some special things for this new addition to our family.

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(Love this photo of my two kids and Skylar)

Adam arrived from Virginia on Thursday where he had been presenting at a conference at Union Seminary. We went out for a family dinner on Thursday night (Skylar slept through the whole meal), and got our family photo for the Christmas cards. Sarah and Adam drove to New Jersey (and back) Saturday for a wedding, and took off for California late this afternoon. They will be there for just two more weeks, as they are moving to Ashland, Oregon where Adam has accepted a position as Associate Pastor for Christian Education at the Presbyterian church. We’ll be going out next month to help them unpack & organize and attend Adam’s ordination back in Livermore after Thanksgiving.

And over the weekend we went on our annual trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake with our good friends, Karen and Mike. We dined, we visited some favorite and new wineries, and saw a fabulous production of My Fair Lady at the Shaw Festival.

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If you skimmed through the above, I certainly don’t blame you, but I’ve had a couple of emails about things going on here so I thought I’d do a recap. Somehow there wasn’t time to blog about it as it happened. But here’s the big news: the new recipient of Sharing Your Story.

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Deb, I’ve got your address, and the book will be on its way tomorrow!