A big mug of gingerbread coffee with FROTH! Thanks, Karen, for thinking of me; what a happy surprise! Happy Birthday to me, and Happy New Year to everyone!

I got some HTML written and reasonably de-bugged this morning, so I celebrated the rest of the day making a really big mess in my studio.

Yikes! It looks even worse in the pic :-(. The doll is coming along pretty well -- just need another run the Joann's tomorrow for more ribbon -- I should have dyed the entire doll black first. The big, round balls are Styrofoam covered with gel medium and newspaper that will eventually be decorated and stuck on the top of the bedposts. I'd considered doll heads, but that was a bit too creepy, so I'll put big feathered crows on the tops, instead (Michael's 70% Halloween discount LOL). I'll post if/when one is completed.

I was up tonight anyway, so I drug out the camera and tripod for a pic of the lunar eclipse, but by the time I figured out how to do a long exposure and got everything set up, the clouds rolled in and blocked the view....so I took a picture of a candle.

The snow is falling again, and I'm really enjoying my time at home. I'll be posting some of the projects I've started, and maybe even a couple that I've finished. I went to Stamp Club last night, and made these ornaments....
They're made with heavy watercolor paper that's soaked in water for a minute, then several Adirondack ink colors dripped on it and and left to spread. Then a think layer of Golden bead paste is spread with a pallette, and topped with silver glitter. I forgot to make the hanging holes at the beginning, but they were easy to do later with my handy-dandy Japanese hole punch.

This was a doll that belonged to Creighton's sister, Lynnea, and generously passed to me. Wish I'd taken a "before" pic, but didn't think of it in time, so here's a midway pic. I'm not too sure about the face right now. It may need to be re-done when the rest is finished. I used a Sharpie oil pen, and didn't have as much conotrol as I expected going over the face high and low areas. Maybe having the picture out of focus is a Good Thing--LOL.The body is covered with various ribbons glued on with Fray-Stop.
More project pics to follow.

We're back from a week in Kansas for an early Christmas with Creighton's family. His parents plan to move closer to his sister in a few months, so he spent most of his time sorting a lifetime of possessions, while I uselessly watched, made inappropriate co0mments, or wisely worked on new designs and socks.

The trip to Belize was a success, so I expect we'll be making an GPS training trip back, hopefully before the show circuit starts again. Here's the last plane going from Belize City to Placencia....

And here's the view of the cockpit from my seat. Great fun to watch all the dials!

We've gotten more snow since, but I got my Flamingos In The Snow pic before they are covered completely LOL

And last but not least, just when you think it can't get any worse, here's Mary Kay at Scott's Rubber Stamp Expo show in Denver.

Yup, there was a booth selling coffins, with little display models...sigh.....

Ah-Ha! I've finally managed to film and edit two snippets of Cosmos that is long enough for you to recognize a running dog...he doesn't follow directions, and is much more interested in grabbing my gloves.

Poor neglected blog. Way too many things have been happening, culminating with the death of my PC, but I'll make a quick synopsis of the last 6 weeks, and try to get back on schedule.
Cosmos update - he's PERFECT! I'll post a video when I get him running in the right direction.
Travels - Milpitas was uneventful except for dinner with Rob and Judi, Sandy and Bruce from SAR. I think the next weekend was Las Vegas, when everything started for fall apart. Mary Kay and I were hit from behind by a hit-and-run driver. Car was towed; got a ride to the venue in the back of the cop car. MK got pics, but I'll probably never have those to post, so you'll just have to believe me. We both had the usual whiplash issues, and I've spent a bazillion hours on the phone with assorted insurance people. Still can't get a copy of the accident report. I"ll post an update when this all gets sorted out. So the Dr. says no lifting of standing for the next week, so that put both of us out of the Denver show, and then the show year was finished with Carson.
The next day I had to make a quick run down to Belize to do a GPS feasibility study for a resort developer. I'm hoping to make a GPS sale and return in January to train them.
Tucked in the middle of this was a run down to Albuquerque to teach some classes as China Phoenix and spend a few lovely days with Paula and Teresa.
Weather - Damned cold. Down to -8°F yesterday, that's -22° for you centigrade folks. But I got a pallet of pellets for the wood stove at a very good price, so I'm not being miserly with the heat.
Socks - None lately. I'm trying to use up some of my stash, and bowls are much faster, so bowls it is!
Designs - I'm not plating anything until it's time to get ready for the January shows. I finally finished the zentangle alphabet that I've been dragging around for months (which can't be called "zentangle"). I was REALLY sick of it by the time I got to the last couple of letters.
PC - New one arrived while I was in Belize, so Creighton got stuck with all the setup. Can't say I'm enthralled with Windows7. WAY to much superfluous crap that I don't need or want.
So that brings us up to today, Turkey Day. I'm happily at home, the snow is falling, and all well with the world. Wish the same to all of you.

Linda

I'm back from the Port Sunlight, UK show, and headed for the show at Milpitas, CA tomorrow morning. Hope to see some of you Bay Area stampers at the Rosewater Hall!
I don't know what I was thinking when I made sock #1 of this pair, but I sure wasn't counting rows. They're going to Judi(www.judikins.com), 'cause she's the only person I know with feet tiny enough to fit in them.

A bit of marketing help needed here.

The birth of Border Display, Rev.4

The birth of Border Display, Rev.4

Alamo car rental sign at the Rhinebeck airport.

The show was a yet another fairground. We should have left a trail of breadcrumbs to the show building...we got lost on our way out, and took a victory lap around the fairground racetrack...and on a similar note -- we were following our GPS directions back to the hotel Saturday night, winding down narrow roads in the dark, so when the GPS said "turn right", we did. The building on the corner had lots of lights on, and several cars around it, so we figured that it was a restaurant. Wrong. As we progressed on a gravel road toward our next direction "turn right in 800 yards" we passed a barn, a shed, fences, and as we came over a small rise, what appeared in the dark to be a cow pond. Uh-oh. So we cautiously turned around in what was now obviously a pasture, and quietly abandoned that route. :-)

I got back from Germany, but a day late (missed connction in Denver), and am frantically getting ready to leave tomorrow at the ass-crack of dawn for the Rhinebeck show. For thoses of you at StempelMekka, the luggage showed up this afternoon. Everything is in the bag, but aside from the grateful absence of shit, it looked like raccoons had been rooting around in it. I'll deal with your pre-orders when I get back from Rhinebeck. Thanks to everyone at Mekka for your help and understanding.
No time to post further, but here's a couple of pics from the Labor Day fireworks show at St. Maries, Idaho. It was an amazing display for a small mountain town.

Here's a pic from last month that I'd forgotten post. It was Day One to Helsinki, making a connection in Frankfurt. I've stopped a Frankfurt so many times that it really is a no-brainer, but going through transit was a different matter. It's kinda like Heathrow, but not quite as bad -- At Heathrow, the gates for the rest of the day aren't posted until the plane is at the gate and ready for boarding, so the huddled masses hang around the monitors until the gate is displayed (usually Gate 586, located approximately near Hemmel Hampsted), and then haul ass like a herd of wildebeasts down the concourse, with, of course, at least one more security check...but I degress...Frankfurt is not THIS bad. I had 5 hours to wait, so I figured that the United Lounge would have early gate info, so I headed that way, and two hours later, after 3 trips through different passport checks, 2 Customs gates, and 2 security checkpoints, then down 6 flights of stairs to this, dare I say "tunnel"



to learn that my gate was back where I'd started. Sigh.

I'm back from Colorado Springs, but headed back to Denver in the morning for the Greeley show. Ah, such a glamorous jet-setting life lead. LOL
Here's a recent weekend chez moi. I think this is where they hide the dead bodies!

I'm heading for the show at Colorado Springs tomorrow morning, so it's the usual last-minute panic this evening. I haven't been to Colorado for years, so I'm hoping that some of my old Stamp Out Cute friends will show up.
I'm teaching a couple of classes and holding a trunk show at China Phoenix2 in Albuquerque on October 22-25. Here's the shadow-box project we'll be making.

Well, I'm back from Helsinki, but Art Unraveled is right off the list. I was sitting in a Helsinki hotel Friday night reading an email from Paula (www.paulabest.com), and I quote "I'm heading off in the truck. See you later today!." Well, THAT didn't happen. Previously, I've arrived at a show for which I never sent in an application; I've purchased tickets for the wrong date (several times); I've even gone to the wrong venue; but this is a new First. As I bumble my way through the years, and across continents, I wonder just how much more incompetent I can get...and then I surprise myself. Very sorry Art Unraveled folks. I'd been collecting some very kewl stuff expecially for you, that must wait for next year.
I didn't take a camera to Helsinki because it weighed a pound (isn't THAT sad), and my phone battery is very whimsical after 18 months (gotta love (NOT!) Planned Obsolescence), so my one pic was taken by Fred and Ank (www.stampinback.nl). This is one of my classes after the show.

Yay!!!! Count 'em -- FOUR functioning legs!! Cosmos in his Ricaro-Montalban-Lounging-in-a-Smoking-Jacket pose....and very happy to have the collar and wrappings off. It's been a LONG 10 weeks.
Here's what the mending bones look like now. It's it amazing how they've gone back together. I'd never dared to hope that we'd be this lucky. If Creighton or I ever break anything, we're going to the vet!!


He's not too keen on the leash, but we have to keep him quiet for another month.
I'm off to a show in Helsinki tomorrow, and then down to Phoenix for Art Unraveled, so probably won't post again for a couple of weeks.

I got a new, cushy bike seat, so Batman and I have been touring the neighborhoods in the evenings. We're up to 6 miles, and were aiming for 8 tonight, but it's just too danged hot.
Cosmos' appointment yesterday was postponed, so we'll be going for our, hopefully, last visit this coming Tuesday. He broke the splint on his last visit -- another $423.00 jab :-(

Purple Flower, Red Ladybug

Creighton's GPS Professor visited this week, so we took off one afternoon and hiked around Mt. Spokane.
Cosmos update: The vet took the splint off on Tuesday, so he just has a bandage around his leg. It has slowed him down a bit, but we're still encouraged in his progress. He gets another Xray next Friday, and hopefully all the wrappings come off then.

Time for more Hawaii pics....Shrine with Rooster and Chicken.

I've been to Collinsville and Orlando. Meanwhile, Cosmos has been back to the vet twice for happy days in the 1960's. Two more pins are out, and he's motoring around on 4 legs.

He still has the Bobble-Head action going on with the Cone Of Shame, but at least the front paw-hop is in the past. Now he is a bit of a "Peg Leg", unfortunately can't get him to balance a fake parrot on his back LOL. I think this means that there is no nerve damage, so we're all happy campers. Batman can almost get lost in the grass. Can't cut it until we have a couple of dry days, which hasn't happened for several weeks. Tomorrow was supposed to be Yard Day, but it's raining again tonight.

I got back from the West Springfield show late last night. I leave for Collinsville on Thursday, so my two days are pretty much unpacking, pressing, trimming, re-packing....and maybe some laundry.
I took Cosmos to the vet this morning so here's his update....
Some good news, and some questionable. The bones are fusing as hoped, but the vet is concerned because he's not moving the leg or foot at all, so there *could* be nerve damage. Don't know yet, so we're saving that panic for later. He has a new contraption....less pins and wrapping, but added a splint to hold his foot up....Oops, the splint is not in the pic. The vet must have really good drugs.

He had to be carried to the car, then carried inside, and has been like this for 6 hours. We're starting some therapy to move his leg....as soon as he wakes up LOL. Water therapy was recommended, but he so hates to even get his feet wet that I think the stress of getting in a pool (assuming that we can even get him in deep enough to be of value) would offset the benefit.
Thanks to everyone who is following the sage. Coz, I Creighton and the Batman all appreciate your Good Wishes and Healthful Thoughts.

Yes, very good drugs. Cosmos is spending his day in the 1960's.

I'm in the Phoenix airport, headed for the W. Springfield show. No new pics of Cosmos, but here's one from the
Audubon Valley on Oahu. The weather was crap most of the week, and we had no money for excursions, but we took a walk through the park one afternoon to see the flowers and feed the mosquitos.

I'm disappointed that the pic is so washed-out looking. Hope it looks better on your monitor. Gotta run for a flight now, so no time to fuss with it. Original looks much better. :-(
Cosmos Update...we've passed the half-way point on his pins and clamps. Only three weeks more and hopefully we'll switch to a cast. He's doing great -- he's gotten used to swinging his leg around so he can lay down on his own, and he's hopping around the yard with no issues. I'd intended to post a video, but it's rained all week, and he hates getting his feet wet, so the trips outside have been short and to the point. I really wish we could take off the Elizabethan collar, but I think it bothers me more than Coz. He looks like a cross between a bobble-head doll and Marty Feldman in "Young Frankenstein". "Walk this way, master". LOL

I am a Bad Dog.

I pulled off all the wrappings and stuffing out of my bandage, AND chewed off the duct tape my parents put on the exposed clamps last night. I even cut my tongue on a sharp edge. So now I'm wearing this stupid collar again, and we're off to the vet. :-(

I'm home from the Sacramento show. My booth backed up to Paula Best. I hadn't seen P and T in AGES, so I was very happy to spend the day with them.
I finally finished T's Christmas pedi-socks -- last Christmas, not this year :-( I have made a couple more pairs recently, but gave those away before I took pics.

Cosmos is doing great on his three good legs. I was going to make a short video of him hopping in the backyard, but trimming/packing for Sacramento overtook the day, so we're going to feature Batman instead. He thinks he's been sorely neglected this last week. Isn't he cute??


But he apparently took exception at being left alone during one of our trips to the vet, and this is how he vented...

Best we can tell, the first 4-5 sheets of tissue came out routinely, but then the enthusiasm grew, resulting in the large flower of tissues still partly stuck inside the box. Wish I'd had a webcam running. This distraction seems to have done the trick, and he's back to his (relatively) calm self.
I'm leaving in the morning for the Sacramento show, and will post Cosmos' video when I get back.

We're back from the vet after Coz's one-week check-up with good news. Healing well, no infection, he's a Good Dog. We don't need to confine him as much, which will make life happier for all of us. He has a new wrapping --- festive orange this week. Here's a pic with the bandages removed. It looks much better than I'd expected. I was nervous about being a weenie when the doctor asked if I wanted to see the contraption, so I was gratefully surprised to see this.

And he's up!!

Here's a pic to show what happened, and serve as warning to other people with (especially large) dogs.

Cosmos was bounding back into the house for his I'm-A Good-Dog-For-Peeing-Outside treat, just like he's done a bazillion times, but this time he stepped on the hose. The hose rolled under his front foot, so that his leg went under the bottom step, while the rest of him kept goind forward. You can see on the Xrays how the bones broke at the top and bottom edges of the bottom step. This could have been avoided if we'd put a 2"x4" strip of wood as a "header" beneath the bottom step. If your steps look like this, please consider modifying them.

Congrats to my RSCVC prize winners!
First - Trish in Alberta
Second - Jerilynn in Oregon
Third - D.A. in Montana
Trish, your box shipped today, but in two packets, not one.
Jerilynn and D.A. - your's will ship tomorrow.
No new pics of tThe Coz tonight - it's late and I still have prizes to pack and rubber trimming for the Puyullap show this weekend, but Cosmos is doing well, and I'll post pics tomorrow. He just doesn't know what to do with that big blue appendage. Best he knows, he took a long nap and woke up with it LOL.

Here's a good reason to send snail mail.

These postage stamps came out 30 April, but I just got mine yesterday. For once, the PO has not PO'ed me LOL
Help support a good cause while you're paying your bills.
I'll post more later with Cosmos' update, and RSCVC winners.

He's home!!! Here's what the Xrays look like with all the pins and struts.

Now we just wait and hope that all the broken bits will eventually grow into a big glob of bone.
And here's the patient.

The big lump isn't his elbow...it's wrapping around the clamps. It looks bad, but he's coping well and being a Good Dog. The vet says we can hope for 80% recovery in 4 months. The beige rectangle on his back covers a pain medication patch which he'll wear until Friday.
I was to announce the three winners of the RSC Virtual Convention today, but I've been a bit distracted. All but two orders shipped today, and I'll announce the winners tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

Doesn't this look nasty? :-( The vet just called, and Cosmos is out of surgery. He has 8 pins holding his leg together, which will hopefully stay in for 4-6 weeks, and then he'll be in a cast for who knows how long. We're another day older and more deeper in debt, but grateful that he's going to be OK. He comes home tomorrow, and I'll post a pic of the patient then.

Hi guys, and Happy Mothers'Day. I'd planned on posting some pics of our Hawaii trip today, but we've had a bit of a whoops with Cosmos. He fell on the back steps this morning and broke his leg. He broke both bones in two places a couple of inches apart, and the bones between the breaks are all kinda chunked up. We spent the afternoon at the Pet Emergency Hospital, and left him there for tonight. They say he's resting comfortably, and we'll meet with an orthopedic surgeon in the morning to discuss what can be done. I'll post again when I know more. Sure could use some happy thoughts sent this way.

Well, I've really screwed up. The RubberStampChat Virtual Convention is happening this weekend, and I forgot to post it on my blog. Actually, it started Thursday evening, but it runs until Monday 6pm PacTime, so you still have many valuable shopping hours. If you're not a member, it's easy to register and access the Convention Hall. Just go to www.rubberstampchat.com to take advantage of all the Convention specials offered by a bunch of great vendors.
I just got to San Fran on a red-eye from Honolulu. I'll post vacation pics later this weekend. Gotta run for the final leg back to Spokane.

First, I want to thank all of you for the get-well emails and wishes. I'm pretty much back to *normal*...just in time for the last round of shows. Since my last post, I've been to Holland, San Jose, and Akron. I *thought* I now had a quiet week to get caught up, but I was surprised to get a "Check in for your upcoming flight" email from United this morning. Oh, sh*t...let the frantic packing begin...but this really is quite funny. I'd intended to do the show in Hawaii and have a few days holiday afterward, so for once I started early and had my ticket, Creighton's, the hotel and car rental purchased ages ago...and then the show was cancelled. So, in the midst of $42,000 of medical debt, what am we doing?? We're going to HAWAII!! And there isn't even a stamp show! HaHa! Even better, I paid for almost everything with airline miles!
...And now to continue with my Around My Neighborhood series, why do Spokanians shop in their pajamas and slippers???


OK, the blue snowflake pajamas pic was shot at the airport. Not quite "my neighborhood", but they were really funny.

I'm still not getting out much, but wanted to share the get-well gift I got from a couple of my BFF's, Paula and Teresa -- a beautiful handmade book with red pages and purple (of course) leather binding, an activity kit with sketch pad, color pencils AND markers (!), and peeps. Yes, Paula they DID make me smile.
I'm blessed to have such wonderful friends who know just what will brighten my day.

I've been out of the hospital for awhile, and should let you guys that I've been paroled. I thought I'd be back at the gym by now, and skiing next week, but things are moving a bit slower than I'd expected. I did make it to the Portland show last weekend, but I'm glad I have a bit more time til the next show. This old dog is stll a bit gimpy. The bills are starting to show up. The projected total is so large that the concept of ever paying it off is really beyond my comprehension. I'm not quite sure how things are going to shake out, but I'll post updates occasionally.
Since I haven't been out and about much, I don't have any new pics, so this seems like a good time to launch a series that I've been comtemplating -- Around My Neighborhood. I live in an area that has little zoning control, so I've been taking pics of some of the more unusual, i.e., eccentric, results.
This is a mailbox.

New nose tube, new nightgown, same problem. As soon as I ate something, the abdomonal pains started again, so I'm back in hospital for a little surgery. At least I'm in Spokane this time...but I'll be missing the show in Indianapolis this weekend :-(

Nothing like a week in hospital with a tube up your nose to really bring out that youthful glow LOL.

We were on our last leg of the loop through California...Family visited, Adrien retrieved, taxes prepared, Vallejo show over, and we were on our way to Fort Bragg....but somewhere around Santa Rosa, I started getting stomach cramps. We got to Fort Bragg, but things didn't improve in the night, and I was admitted to the hospital the next morning for a blocked intestine. YUCK! Nope, it just couldn't be something delicate like Nichole Kidman's tuburculosis in Moulin Rouge. I had to list burps and farts as "positive" events in my day :-(. Well, they finally shoved enough gunk down that tube to declare clear passage, and they let me out. Creighton and Adrien used foam and sleeping bags to turn the Escape into an ambulance,

and we made the Great Blast back home this weekend -- 19 hours driving for Adrien. We were so lucky to have him along! It was a long and unpleasant week, but it's over, and I'm getting better each day.
Sorry that I missed the Albuquerque show and the classes at China Phoenix 2, but I'll be re-scheduling the classes ASAP.

-Linda

15 days absent, yet again. Mary Jo had mentioned that Spokanians are fond of going out publically in the jammies and fuzzy slippers. I'd noticed this, too, but MJ inspired me to document these oddities, which I did....but now I can't get the pics off my iPhone...so we're on to other topics until I can get thise pics downloaded. Anyhoo, look at who showed up at the Lawrenceville show last week!!

That's right IT'S THE EVOS, Dale and Ellen!! What a treat to see them. They'd been a staple at the shows for as long as I'd been around, and we've all missed them greatly. Love you guys! We had some fun walking down Memory Lane, and Ellen had "the rest of the story" from a night in Daytona Beach when they damn near killed me...and THEN laughed at me!! It's a LONG, albeit it humerous, story, so I'll save it for another time. Rubber has been my life this last week -- packing for three shows. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here's what used to be a living room. The box in the back is raw rubber that sits next to the pellet stove to keep it warm enough to press.

We're headed for California tomorrow evening. Eye checkup for me in Fresno, tax man in Cambell, then up to Vallejo for the show next weekend. Then we swing by Fort Bragg to finally fetch some of my stuff that was in storage there for 7, yes SEVEN years ago!! Adrien is coming back with us for a visit, so he'll help with the driving 'cause we have to get back here for my flight to ABQ Wednesday afternoon. It's a tightly chorographed couple of weeks. so I have NO idea when I can post again.

HEEERRREEE'S COSMOS!!
Cosmos's does his Jack Nickelson impersonation.
The door panel was cracked when we moved here, and it's been on our to-do list ever since. We've been making do with the duct tape repair. Cos just gave it a good poke, and moved the job further up on the repair list.

Sample for a Shadow Boxes class I'm teaching at China Phoenix 2 in Albuquerque on Feb 25.