The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation.-Corrie Ten Boom

I was surprised today with a call from my friend Curt!
Too cool!
Of course he was helped out by my sly friend Myrna!
And just so ya know Myrna.........I packed the darn phone out of the house with me after your last comment!
And no Myrna, the doors are NOT for the outhouse; just for that you WILL have to wait until we pick up my next treasures. And Ray & the farmers place we're getting them from, can laugh all they want; cause I just KNOW when I bring them home and set them up for what I want them for.....everyone's gonna want one!

I had debated whether or not to flop on the couch for 10 minutes, but instead put a Rhubarb Bundt Cake in the oven!
Here's the recipe!
It's the second most requested rhubarb recipe....right after the Rhubarb Crisp!
And Id'a put the link there if I could find it! Found it!

Rhubarb Bundt
1/2 Cup Margarine
1 Cup White Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg
2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Cup Milk
2 Cups Finely chopped Rhubarb
1 Tsp. Almond Extract
Topping
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Tsp. Cinnamon

Grease Pan.
Sprinkle 1/3 topping in pan.
Put in half the batter.
Put another 1/3 of the topping on.
Remaining batter.
Remaining topping.
Bake for 40-50 minutes on 350F.

YUMMMMMMMMM!

It's after 6 pm, and Ray still hasn't came back with the boat!
He's gotta raise the water lines in the dugout!

I couldn't put the new seal on the stove....gotta buy more!
I guess they're made for fireplaces, and the stove has a BIG door!
I did clean out all the old gunk & stuff!

I weeded the tomatoes, and gave them a haircut!
The rhubarb in it's new home got weeded!
I cleaned a bathroom, did a load of laundry, baked the cake, and hung out with the kittens.
I mowed over by the cat house & fruit trees.....even though it was wet. I'd have left the bag off, but it's a rear bagger, and, well, it wouldn't have been any fun!
Shadow got some more matts & hair cut off her back end, and more flea powder.
Better see if it's time for us to have another treatment with the oil!

Here's the butterfly I was trying to get a good picture of when I answered the phone outside!

I told you Shadow was such a 'MOTHER'!

This cat must have needed a bath!

Yup, Shadow licked this little feller!

Or maybe she was 'tasting' her! hahahaha JK!

Ray came home for a rifle....talk about shooting stuff!

Came & got the 270, whatever that is!

His sister has a bear!

It's ate her Saskatoons, and has been in her garden!

She lives by the highway, so hope Ray doesn't miss!

I'm only allowed to shoot the 22. I think it's the smallest rifle we have!

Hope we don't get a bear, cause the 22 will only piss him off!

Better go, I guess if Ray's not boating tonight I can makie some cards!

Need one for a GF, towards the end of August!

This was one of my 'friends' status on Facebook.

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
Love the people who treat you right.
Forgive the ones who don't.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
...If it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said life would be easy.
They just promised it would be worth it.

Ta ta for now!

Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, to give yourself to it.- Buddha

Oh yoi I'm tired, but it's a good tired!

These pictures are from sunset Wednesday night....sometime after 10:00pm

The other day at work this pheasant streaked by my window!?

Did I mention the guy next door has birds & stuff!?

Not for long if they keep escaping!

The chicken's still at work hanging out with the dog!

I spent this morning cleaning the cat house garden shed.

I brought home these little fellers from work yesterday!

There's really 6 of them, and I think they're too little, but the guys in the shop were getting a little testy, after the cats went for a road trip in one of the big trucks for a few days; and they're into everything!

I had made them porridge, and dumped whipping cream on it!

I got more for tomorrow!

Oh yeah, there's a mouse in the garden shed cat house.

I found that ironic!

Here's the cat baby sitter waiting for those kittens to figure out the cat door, bottom left, hidden by the tree!
Jeez, I gotta get that grass mowed!

I think I should start a mushroom farm; it's been so wet!

This poppy was growing by the water tank!

I don't have poppies!?

I was at the tank to fill up the sprayer to kill the weeds in the dugout!

Yup, camera in pocket!

Didn't get a boot full of water this time though!

I bet the water's warmer though!

Did the laundry.

Threw supper in the oven, set the timer, and Ray & I went to an old farmhouse to get the doors we wanted.

Yes; unlike a lot of people; we know the owners, and were allowed!

On the way, we saw these cranes!

There were 6 and I think they were mom, pop & kids!

Here are the doors!

We got 5 different sized solid wood doors!

Heavier than heck, trust me!

We have to take a wagon for the other treasures I'm getting!

Different farm, same owners!

They're big farmers; gonna strike a match to all the old buildings; clear it out & farm straight across!

I'm getting five (5)....oh I can't tell you, you'll laugh!

On the way home we saw these cranes!

I don't know if they were a different family or what!

I DID make a card or 2 this week!

This was definately out of my comfort zone, but turned out great!

It's for a wonderful, fun lady!

Her kids are throwing a big bash for her, I know she'll love it!

It's larger than usual too.

It's about 5 X 7.

Needed it that big for the Cricut letters....so they didn't tear!

I've had that owl paper for a while and didn't know what to do with it!

I finally got the pile of bottles sorted today.

The store in town gave me the wrong filter for the van; so Ray took a batch in for me.

My going to Michaels Money is adding up!

I'm reading Water For Elephants...and loving it!

The kids aren't around, but I have to read the book before I get to see the movie!

I'd better go, got a busy day tomorrow too...hopefully the line in the dugout gets raised, the door on the outdoor furnace gets a new seal, and the sewer pump gets fixed!

I'll be doing the seal on the furnace door!

And I'd better mow that grass over by the garden shed, & trees!

Gawd, I'm tired just thinking about it!

Have a great Sunday!

Ta ta for now!

Angels fly because they take themselves lightly.-Jean Cocteau

Hello peeps!

Relax, no rant today!

The kids were home on the weekend, and we watched Rango & The Adjustment Bureau!
Those kids know me!
I don't go to movies....the odd fundraiser that's it!
They were both great!!

I've been busy!
Of course I have!
I was going to tell you the mothball story, from the previous post!

We have a mouse; not in the house yet, but under the far tub!
I was in my craft room one night, and I heard a noise.
I thought, "What the heck is that dog doing?"
And went to look!
The dog was asleep on the steps.
I come back to the craft room, pause at the bathroom & other bedroom, and hear it!
Partying under the tub!
I took Christmas out of the closet, cause that's where the access to the pipes is!
Brought home a box of Steel Wool from the store and went to work, filling the 5" holes that were cut for 2 (two) 1/2" pipes. IKIDYOUNOT!
I'm going to be a contractor in my next life.
Don't know if I wanna 'do it right', or shove all my crap into walls etc., and cut really BIG holes where they're not needed!!
Anyhoo, I put steel wool around the vent stack that I could reach too.
I threw a block of mouse poison under there, put Christmas back in the closet and called it good.

A couple weeks later; Ray, from his lazy chair says,"you didn't get rid of that mouse."

The problem is, the tub drains at the far end, it isn't accessable from the access!

I clean Christmas out of the closet again; the mouse poison is gone; I throw half a box of mothballs under the tub,  & another mouse poison block.
2 days later, the whole house smells like mothballs, Ray 'thinks' the mouse is gone, and the kids are coming home for the weekend!
I decided I should have only put about 2 mothballs under there, so while everyone's at the Demolition Derby, I open the access up, and vacum up all the mothballs I can see!
Had to throw the vacum cleaner bag away, and I think I've got it under control!
Sure glad it was summer so the windows could be open, I'd have died in the winter!
The kids stayed out in the camper!
Christmas IS NOT back in the closet ....yet!
And I didn't know what smelled worse...the mothballs or the room deodorizer I had bought for my craft room to make it tolerable! YUCK!

Got some pics for you.
I've been working on Sympathy cards....maybe if I have a stock pile of them, I won't need them!

Made my mom's BD card, and got it in the mail.

My chore today was to sort the bottles!

I have maybe 1/4 of that in the back of the van!

I did get most of the yard mowed yesterday.
It was raining when I came home from work today, I read my latest Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum) novel, until the rain quit.

Shadow helps with the bottles.......hahahaha, she licks the pop bottles, and juice jugs, etc.!
She doesn't listen when I tell her "You don't know where that's been!"

Gotta go.
Talk to ya later!

Ta ta for now!

When you dig another out of their troubles, you find a place to bury your own.- Anonymous

I think I'll have to lump everyone together so the hole's big enough for my troubles this past week! I'll get the cheese right now.
And before I start, I just want to say that I still can't comment on some posts!?

Myrna, your stuff is great; like always!

Bonnie, I am terribly sorry for your loss.
And that right there folks will make my crap seem trivial!

Took the van to PR a week ago Monday for a sleep over.
S, in the Service Dept. at Peace River Chrysler told me, "You're right; this has gone on too long, bring the van down, we'll have a rental for you yadda yadda!"
I drove a Jeep Cheroke all last week, and I was happy, cause I wasn't vehicle-less.
Remember, this is the 6th time the van has been there, cause of the cruise control. (I still have the dust problem)
Took the rental back Saturday, picked up the van.
Monday ( July 18th) the nice lady from AVIS calls me.
"Did you know Peace River Chrysler only pays $40.00 a day?"
"I don't know why they don't tell you people that."
They paid $168.00, I paid $229 and change.
I called the manager at Peace River Chrysler, asked him if he thought that was fair, and after the "Didn't anyone tell you?"
"That's Chrysler Canada's policy, not ours."
I snapped.
I'm not a freakin mind reader!

Let's figure this out.
6 trips there and back 1200 kms at .35 a km $420.00
2 tanks of gas @ $70+ bucks a pop.
My time......12 hours of driving time, anyhoo, lets say $10 bucks an hour just for fun, never mind the waiting time, and inconvienience. Lets say 20 hours total (I'm being kind) $200.00
I'm into this for $760.00 already, and remember this is warranty.
THEN. I. HAD. TO. PAY. $229.00 FOR. THE RENTAL.
Don't forget I had to wash it & fill it up with gas before I dropped it off, I'm going to say $65.00 for that!
I'm in it for $1,054.00, just on the cruise control, which does work now thankyouverymuch.
Getting screwed over by my vehicle dealership....PRICELESS!

But wait, there's more...............
I went on Facebook, and trashed them (Peace River Chrysler), just like I'm doing here.
Apologized to everyone for the 'DRAMA' (go to the college and take a course), and one of my 'friends'  KNOWS people.
People at Chrysler Canada.
She didn't promise anything.
She's gonna make sure a LOT of people at Chrysler hears about this.
I LOVE her!

I e-mailed her a copy of the original letter I wrote them.
I had issues with the document fee.
On TV they advertised that the $150.00 document fee is negotiable.
I had to pay $499.00, for nothin'! No trade in, no financing.
And when I mentioned the ads on TV, the woman asked me "What the hell are you talking about?"
I shoulda packed it up and walked out then.
I'm so guilible, and a sucker for punishment!

Ok, I'm DUN..........................
You don't wanna know what I told the manager at Peace River Chrysler, let's just say my mom would've washed my mouth out, and then I was so frustrated I bawled!
And I gotta be REAL mad to do that!
I DO have an appointment with a dealership in another town, that is another 1/2 hour away, but oh well. Maybe they can solve my dust problem.
Shoulda bought this vehicle there, that's where we usually shop.
I'll admit to making a mistake, and it won't happen again!

K really I'm DUN.

And Wednesday night I took the peeps from the OFH for ice cream, at the hot pink ice cream shack down the highway!
They make me laugh!
We drove around aimlessly for 2 hours!
We gotta do that again!

Today I found this!
Nope the guy isn't related, but I sure laughed!

Got some pictures for you.
The moon was out the other morning!

My one & only peony this year!

The only 2 tiger lilies blooming!

Ray's peas & potatoes!

These guys are getting bigger!

I have pictures of them Here!

I've been making Sympathy cards.

I'd like to get ahead with these but it never happens.

There you have it!

It's Rodeo weekend in town! Yeee Hawwww!

Vanessa & S are on their way!

I took smokies out for a snack, and it's raining!

Got my fabulous rhubarb crisp in the oven.

All sorts of muchies and beverages out!

I told her they had to stay in the guest suite (camper), cause the whole house smells like mothballs/long story/I'll tell them when they get here!

So I've ran across the yard, turned on the hot water, put out the slide, the rug, the awning, and lit a mosquito coil for under the step; so the little critters don't hurry in when you open the door.

I'll tell you the mothball story later!

Have a good weekend!

Ta ta for now!

It is never too late to become what you might have been.-George Eliot

You KNOW I should be outside mowing the grass! Again.
Don't worry, I'm sure it's going to rain!
We've been invited to a wedding....just one, later this month.
I've had this card in my head for a couple days!
Probably from doing the card following it and getting high on Stazon.
Gawd, that's evil stuff!

So I embossed the vellum, and the stamp is under that.

(Stamped with Stazon no less!)

Then I added pearls, some ribbon to cover Lord knows what showed up under the vellum!

(I also have a gob of something on the back, but I'll fix that too!)

This next one was fun, and it would've worked with the vellum!
You just cut sections of your embossed work out.
I saw this HERE!
I'll be darned, we used the same embossing folder!

Here's the inside!

If anyone can tell me how to properly use Crackle Accents...I'd love them forever!

I used an antique button on the front of the card, cut the little legs off a brad, filled the button full of Glossy Accents, plopped the legless musical note in there, and let it dry!

It dried with a bubble, but I'm ok with it!

Now, as per someone's request, here are the bird houses I slapped together on the weekend!

The little one was bought a million years ago at Home Depot.

I'll have to ask Vanessa if they still have them!

There's no perches on the larger ones, so big birds can't perch and steal the babies!
See, learn something new every day!

Following is the card Vanessa sent her dad for Father's Day; and because of the strike, he only got it last week!

Hahahaha, that kid kills me sometimes!

She's on her way to a Backstreet Boys/New Kids On The Block concert in the city!

Hey, I had to take her to 2 , then she grew up, and learned to drive yadda yadda yadda!

So I don't have to go anymore....don't worry, she's asked me!

Here's Shadow smiling for a picture!

I better go, I see blue sky through the clouds, so maybe I'll make an attempt at mowing,

or maybe I'll just make some more cards!

Do any of you sell your cards?

I'd like to know what to charge.

I've had a few requests!

I don't want it to be wild & crazy, just a ball park figure's good!

Stephanie from Germany's visiting with Kalen in Victoria!

You already know where V went, & Ray's hauling gravel today.

I need a nap, it's our year end at work, and that's always a headache!

Oh yeah, before I go, Sheree's put a deadline on her project she needed help with,

so If you're interested go let her know!

Talk to ya later!

Ta ta for now!

The First Time in Years, the Weatherman's been RIGHT!

It rained yesterday, and today!
Like the weatherman said.
Did I say it RAINED!?
I forget what Ray dumped out of the rain gauge yesterday!
But here it is today!
It's between 1 inch & 1 1/4 inches!

It's in the other garden now, cause the potatoes & peas were getting soooo big!

My peppers behind are looking a tad ill, and I'm hoping it's from all the rain, not because I sprayed weed killer Thursday night. In. The. Wind!

I'm sooo tired of the dandelions, chickweek, etc!

Got some new embossing folders in my travels!

Here's one!

Could I take a straight picture?

Apparently NOT!

Here's another, and I'm playing with an embossing folder I won!

This is really a Teal greenie blue!

I got my stash of Core'dinations on Thursday!

Today I've done the laundry!

Threw some stew in the slow cooker!

Good thing too, cause Rays' sister & husband stopped in;

on their way to a wedding social in town!

Yup, I fed them!

I built 3 bird houses I bought in my travels!

Vacumned & mopped floors, washed rugs!

I know!

Crazy hey, when it's wet & ugly outside!

But No housework gets done when the weather's nice!

Hauled a roast in to throw in the slow cooker for tomorrow!

We also Bluestoned the dugout on Thursday night;

and will be doing THAT again,

as soon as the water's done running through the dugout!

The creek out back is running; we've had so much water!

Oh well, que sera sera!
Can't do anything about the weather!

I need to make some more sympathy cards. Used my last 3 this past week!

Better go! Gonna make some popcorn & think about the cards I'm going to make!

Talk to ya later!

Ta ta for now!

July Challenge at CCAYR

Warning: This post may contain Christmas Cards!

July Challenge   With summer weddings coming up, white should be a main "colour" and then we'll need some bling - gems, pearls, glitter, etc.
Added challenge for fun - Flower(s) of some kind too!!!

I used the Faux Mother Of Pearl technique I found here!

I tried to show how shimmery & shiny they are IRL;

and I think I used too  much of the darker shimmer,

but I think they turned out ok!

I definitely will be trying this again!

I ran the cards through my Big Shot.

They all have a flower, some are on the left & some are on the right,

and rub on sentiments.

Very easy, and 5 more Christmas Cards are done!

Ta ta for now!

Have a wonderful day with many *SMILES*

Happy Independence Day my peeps to the south!

Well, the yardwork is DUN!
For a minute!
After 2 & 1/2 days of cleaning the camper, mowing, whipper snipping, planting, transplanting, building a new home for the rhubarb, cleaning up wood all over the back 40......yesterday at 2:00 pm, I told Ray I'd had enough fun in the sun, and I was going in!
It's been so windy, we haven't been able to burn any of stuff we cleaned up!
Maybe this Friday night!
I also watched the back end of a snake disappear, while mowing around the dugout! YIKES!

Listening to the radio one day the announcer said, "You know, some people can get a days worth of work in before 9:00 am."
I'm thinking Ummmm hmmmmmm!
The announcer then said, "Well whoopty freaking doo for you."
I was giggling, so didn't hear the 'rest of the story'!
Guess I shouldn't get up so early then! Oh well!

Back at work today, and it's a welcome rest...I don't have to do anything physical....just gotta THINK!

Got a few pictures for you.

This was the sunset on Canada Day!

This is the card I'm going to get in the mail tomorrow for Kalen!

See the knot!?

Guess it would show up better if it were rope!

It's a Carrick Bend!

Here's the inside!

Then my friend Sheree over here at Vancouver Island Craft Junkie asked for some help, so this is the card I made for her friend.

It will go in the mail tomorrow too!

There you have it!

What I've been working on, it's supposed to rain this week,

so maybe I'll get my cards started for the July challenge.

Better go, I'm waiting for a friend from the city to come for coffee.

Actually it's the friend I went to visit in Arizona last year!

She bought a house there!

Anyhoo, I'll talk to ya later!

Ta ta for now!