Last week two of my friends gave me gifts for my birthday.
My favorite licorice, a fall flag, a puzzle and some glass bluebirds from longtime friend Susie!
A bag, the cutest scissors holder and scissors and some yarn from Sam!
I have two very thoughtful friends! Thank you gals!
Far Side
We washed three windows! It is a good beginning.
I got a package in the mail the other day from Jen. The card said "I hope your day sparkles!"
I should be set for decorating cards for a long time! Stickles are lots of glitter in a small amount of glue and perfect for making sparkling cards.
We are making good progress on our Fall work list...good thing too as the Junco's have been here three days...and some snoooooo flakes were seen in the air yesterday...if the sun had been out they would have sparkled....but it was overcast and dreary...and cold!
Far Side
I had a great birthday!
Jen stopped by with a card and some dies for May Baskets! Someday I hope to make May Baskets again!
I opened the Dick Blick box from Far Guy. Dick Blick sells art supplies of all kinds.
Inside that box was a case for Tombow Dual Brush markers and a bunch of markers! They are perfect for the cards I like to make. I have a real good start on a great collection!
Jen brought her scissors and gave me a haircut and thinned the bulky areas...it was taking forever for my hair to dry...some days it would be wet from morning until night because it took a really long time to dry. What a relief to have some of the bulk gone!
Later in the afternoon my parents brought out a cake, my Mom sewed me a new valance for the kitchen window and a runner for the table...when I get the valance up I will take a photo.
My other baby brother and she who sees Robins first stopped by for cake and a visit....and nephew Josh stopped by with a Happy Birthday wish also!
It was a good day...and now I am older. Special cards were sent by a number of good friends!
Many lovely messages appeared on facebook and here on the blog...thank you!
Far Side
The birthday surprise was a surprise for both of us….Far Guy had no idea what thoughtful gift he was going to come up with…he was starting to panic. I have to admit I might have enjoyed his panic just a tad. He was so busy last week my birthday was the last thing on his mind.
Our daughter Jen showed up with a new machine that she had purchased…Far Guy then offered to purchase it from her… for me!
It is a fancy smancy die cutter.
No more hand cranking a die machine…this one has a motor and grabs the sandwitched die and the paper comes out perfect.
For our Christmas Cards this year I wanted a fancy die cut piece of paper to surround a stamped image.
The machine does a marvelous job…this is a very intricate cutout…many tiny pieces of paper fall out all over! If they don’t fall out then they are poked out.
It is a wonderful Birthday surprise! Far Guy was off the hook…I was happy…and Jen can borrow it when ever she wants. It was a win win win situation.
I am older today.
I was looking through some of my old birthday photos and this one made Far Guy laugh out loud.
Me and my baby brother…ready to shoot the photographer. Far Guy said “Too bad you didn’t keep that holster!”
Doncha just love the full skirt with itchy can cans underneath accessorized by a apron with it’s own towel…and a really strange haircut…no chance of those bangs getting in my eyes…and my shoe is untied. I am holding a figurine of a Collie.
My Mom took this photo and she marked it 11 years old so the year would be 1962.
Far Guy and I will go to lunch today with my parents…at one of our favorite places. I got new mulching blades for my lawnmower so I am really happy…and Far Guy got me a nice surprize too…quite by accident…but I really like it! When he asked me what I would like for my birthday I replied “ I know you will pick out a really thoughtful gift.”
It warmed up. Well it is above freezing at 36 degrees or 2 C eh! Warm enough to take the kitchen window apart get rid of the gross dead Asian Lady Beetles that are everywhere and properly wash a window. ( When it was window washing weather last Fall we were invaded by the horrid little bugs.)
I have been waiting for the weather to warm up so I could do that project and hang up my new curtain…the valance that my Mother made me for my birthday. The fabric is part of The 2017 Minnesota Quilt Project…but I saw the material and just knew it would make a really pretty valence in our kitchen. This window also has blinds…hidden by the valance. Not that we use them very much…when it is really cold or really hot.
Of course one little project turns into a little bit bigger project as you go along. My “stuff” on the ledge of the window needed a wash.
My extra large ice cream bowl that is full of petrified wood and agates from Washington State and a gift from a friend is one of my favorite things….and a real dust catcher especially when the window is open.
Loon and Lady Slipper hangs in the window to discourage birds from flying into the window. Most of our snow has melted for the moment.
One window at a time….it is exercise for my bum hand.
Far Guy was cooking his famous chip dip; a chili cheese italian sausage mixture as I finished up my project. It was really yummy.
I received a few Get Well I am glad your surgery is over cards! Then I got a package in the mail from Kansas with some books to keep me occupied! Thank you all, it is great to get unexpected mail!
Then it was my birthday and a few more cards showed up in the mail.
That cake is filled with a whole lot of candles!
My parents took us out for a late lunch/early supper yesterday and my Mom made a cake with coconut and brown sugar frosting! They both said that they didn’t think they would live long enough to see a child as old as me.. I replied “I didn’t think I would ever be this old either” and we all laughed.
My Mother sewed a new kitchen curtain valance for my birthday. I dropped that hint on her a few months ago when I saw a fabric I fell in love with that is part of a Minnesota Collection. We got out one of my old curtains for a pattern and when I clean the shade and wash the window I will put it up and take a photo.
The hand report.
I am three weeks post carpal tunnel release surgery today. I have burning in two areas of my wrist/hand. It is still swelling. I ice it all night and sometimes during the day. I take Aleve and Ibuprofin every day. I have good mobility but there are still some things I cannot do. Like wring out a wash cloth…or my hair ( I have long grey hair)…pull anything toward me…like heavy drawers, open bottles of anything, push the car door open. Three weeks and I have not driven the car…heck I cannot drive a grocery buggy so I let Far Guy drive. Pushing, pulling or reaching out is painful, anytime the palm of my hand comes in contact with anything I have pain.…I am getting real used to being a lefty. It is very possible that I have nerve damage and it will just take time and patience to recover. Sometimes I am sorry I had the surgery…but then I recall the pain I had before…six of one half a dozen of the other….at least there is a chance that this burning pain will go away…someday. Getting old is not for sissies.
A bit of good news I had a biopsy taken from a small growth above my eyebrow. It is just some kind of cyst and not cancerous per my dermatologist who went over every inch of my body. She likes doing small surgeries so I think I made her day by having something that looked troublesome that she could remove.
My husband is very supportive of my “art.”
This was part of my birthday gift. Prismacolor pencils in every shade you can imagine.
My first thought was “They are too pretty to use.” Silly me… of course I will use them! I have an older set of 24 that I absolutely love!
My hand/arm is still giving me fits, it swells and has a burning pain in two spots. A bit of coloring is good therapy. I cannot do it for too long but at least I feel like I am accomplishing something.
Far Guy is helping me stamp the Christmas Cards, I cannot stamp anything yet. I hope in another week I see great improvement so I can go to the Craft Retreat pain free.
Thank you everyone for all the birthday wishes yesterday!
I got an ant for my birthday…one with a bobbly head that makes me smile.
I hope it makes you smile too!
He sits near one of my glass flowers.
I have always liked black licorice. Well I cannot lie. I love black licorice. Especially the licorice from a long time ago. The licorice taste was dark and intense, you could smell and taste the flavor at the same time.. they were unwrapped in a box, free from plastic wrap, they were shaped just like a small pipe, their luscious pipe bowls had little red candies on the top of the pipe bowl to simulate a flame. You reached right into the box and grabbed how many you wanted and plopped them down on the counter..where the clerk counted them again. Then someone apparently got sick or something and rigorous candy handling standards were implemented. For years we found them in Canada. Then they disappeared completely until someone reinvented them and wrapped them in plastic. They were almost the same..very close to the original.
My Uncle knew of my passion for licorice.. He was a traveler, during his many travels he would look for licorice pipes. He would tuck them into the side pockets of his suitcase..then he would dole them out throughout the year..he knew that a licorice pipe would get him a big old hug.
During one of these trips, he died. My Aunt found licorice tucked into a side pocket of his suitcase. She called and said “Otto bought you some licorice, I found it in his suitcase, it must have been for your birthday.”
I had one six year old licorice pipe left from Lake Tahoe, in a Christmas tin upstairs. Hard as a rock, from my Uncle’s suitcase back in 2004.
Happy Birthday to me! Thanks Jen, Andy, Noah and Adam!
Yes, today is that dreaded day I turn one year older or perhaps it is just that I am ageing to perfection:)
