A Stampin' Holiday

Hello All!

This has been a course in stamina for me! I am learning how to prioritize my time…I do not seem to be succeeding in this endeavor, but I have Faith I will get there, eventually!

COVID has really changed a lot of ways of how the world operates on a day-to-day basis. None of us are immune to those changes. There are many “New” Normal’s. We aren’t getting back to normal but adjusting to the ‘New’ Normals!

With all that said…I am aiming to get back to some of the things I enjoyed doing, ‘pre’ COVID! I hope all of you are too! I made a decision to live as normal as I did before COVID and not live in fear of COVID. Oh! I will still don a mask going into the ‘Petry’ dishes of shopping, i.e., Walmart! Sorry, don’t be offended, but some people just aren’t any more conscious of clean, than before COVID! I became a worse neat freak since COVID!

I ended my term as President of the Garden Club here. BUT I am heading up 2 Committee Chairs. One for our fund-raiser of Craft Fair Raffle Baskets! We had our first showing and ticket sales at the Craft Fair on October 15, 2022. The next showing will be at the November Garden Club Meeting, where the Garden Club Members can purchase tickets, before the meeting. We will draw the 3 winners for A Spa Basket, a Wine and Cheese Basket, and a Future Wine (Grape Vine and along with that, a bottle of wine!) I will get a bit of a rest, then my other Committee Chair is the Annual Bus Trip for the Garden Club Members, in the Spring (April). I have selected a destination and in the process of securing the Bus, to figure out the cost per person, for the trip! All proceeds from these Raffle Baskets goes towards our Scholarship Fund. Our Garden Club awards one student/candidate $1000. The student must be in study for farming, horticulture, forestry, or agriculture. Many of these students are the sons and daughters of Farmers.
We need to keep our Farmers going, to feed us as a nation!

The Bus Trip is usually a destination to a Botannical/Floral Garden, a place to eat (all pay their own meal), and a place to shop! I will let you know when I finalize the Trip!

I will be sharing my cards; I have been working on! I am going to try to keep up with sharing, more often. COVID really put the brakes on for me! My Card Class has grown from 6 ladies to 12! I am keeping busy with the Class. A lot of pre-cutting for the kits. I prep 14 Kits, of which one kit is pre-assembled, for a visual aid to copy! I always make a spare, in case someone new, may appear for Class! We do not want to send them away!

Starting with the December Class, we will be going back to the ladies doing their own stamping, since I won’t fear passing around the Ink Pads! COVID stopped that, but…baby steps! So far, I have one set of cards that they only have to assemble (I forgot when I was prepping the kit, oh well?). The other 3 Cards, they will have to stamp, themselves! I may also start bringing in the Big Shot for them to die cut and emboss their own card items, depending on the type of Card they will be making! We shall see…again, baby steps to the ‘old’ normal! Perhaps doing that in January, a new year!

I am also getting more involved with my Church too! Many activities that are reaching out to the Communities, around us! I am feeling more able to do this too! My plate is full!

I also am taking good care of Mr. Hubster. His health isn’t the best, but we persevere! He is dealing with his issues since having Colo-rectal cancer. He has been cancer free for 9 years now, he has issues to deal with since the treatments and surgery. He was lucky not have to wear a bag, but there are still those lingering issues he must deal with, and he is learning and coping, his way.

I will do my best to try and upkeep this, Blog. I hope to keep you posted on my ‘card therapy’! After all, Cardmaking IS cheaper than Therapy!

Many Blessings to you all…till the next post!

Hello All!

It has been a while since I have been here, sharing what I have been playing with, in my Craft Room.

COVID really changed a lot in my head about priorities. I started putting many things first, I guess a fear of this disease. Trying to do all I could in a day, in case there was no tomorrow…sounds bleak, but a reality.

I resumed my classes when all started opening up from the COVID shut downs. In prepping for the classes, I had to also do all the stamping. Couldn’t pass around ink pads, stamps and such. Also, all attendees, were masked, tables set apart, for ‘social distancing’. I washed down the tables, before and after the Class. Hand sanitizer was available, from the POA, where I live!

Now, I still washdown the tables and the hand sanitizers are still in the rooms. It seemed to be getting back to normal…now, we have the variants rearing their ugly heads, I will have to continue doing the stamping, until this COVID is finally, way back, in the rearview mirror.

I am going to try to get back to blogging. I’ll start with the cards, my Card Class Ladies assemble, monthly! That can be one Card a week! If I start small, then I can get back into the groove of posting. I will work on a few ‘Blog Challenges’ from blogland…but not every day. I will be honest, blogging daily is a time thief. I will work up to posting as much as I can. Just not something that takes me away from my time, with Mr. Hubster!

Until this ‘Stella’ finds her Groove,

Blessings to you ALL!

Hello All!

It has been a long time since I’ve been here.

Many don’t know how much time it takes to sit down here

and make and then type up cards and such everyday!

The Pandemic had me working on other things, while homebound!

I Crocheted 4 afghans! Oh, yes I did!

I first made one for Mr. Hubster. It is beautiful! (and heavy!)

I then proceeded to crochet 2 at once, for 2 of my Sisters.

They both requested my squares afghan (regular is 64 squares).

The last one was a shell stitch with multi-colored yarn for another Sister!

At the end of this month, I will be traveling up North for ‘Sister’s Week’!

These are my gifts to my 3 Sisters! I also have several other items for them too!

We exchange gifts with each other to cover, Birthday and Christmas!

I have to admit, I feel like a kid on Christmas morning!

It’s so cool to open our gifts to each other, with each other!

We do seem to relive our Christmas’ Past!

I will return on the weekend of the 4th-What? Am I crazy?

Well, I will driving one of my Sister’s back home to WV.

Spend the night and leave early the next morning to head home to NC!

In September, my BFF, Dixie will drive from Texas to NC.

She will stay a couple of days here and then off to RI, we will drive!

We will be attending our 50th High School Reunion!

This will be the last one I will attend! Only doing this for the 2 ‘girlfriends’!

A good excuse to visit and have some fun!

After the Reunion, we will head up to Maine to visit a friend of Mr. Hubster and mine.

We will spend a night , or two, then head down to Mystic Connecticut.

We both have never been to the Mystic Aquarium.

We will do so then! We will spend a night or two there…

Then finally, we will drive back home to NC.

Dixie will stay several days to recoup and then head back to Texas.

It’s going to be a great time with Dixie! We always have fun together!

I am serving another year as President of the Community’s Garden Club here!

I had to be voted in for this year, since I didn’t really serve last year, due to the

Pandemic’s shutdown of all activities here, in the Community.

The By-Laws state a President can only serve 2 consecutive years.

After one year passes, then can serve again, if they wish, and are voted in, by the membership.

I had to send out a flyer to all the members for permission, and to be voted into Office.

For a 2/3’s majority, I needed 42 votes. I got in with 43 votes! Only by one!!!

The rest of the membership voted aye at the meeting, it was unanimous!

We will install our new Board Monday, June 14, 2021

So as you can see, I’ve been busy and remain so, too!

I haven’t given up cards. I have a monthly Card Class that I am

busy with, making Card Kits for the Ladies.

I have had to make up all the kits for Class, up to and through October,

because of being out of town, these 2 trips coming up!

I had to get July’s Class ready, since I will be returning on July 5th and

Class is on July 7th! Then I had to get September’s Card Kits done, since Class will

be on September 1st and I will be leaving for RI on the 5th. I will return on the 15th

of September…had to get October’s Class done, since I will not have enough time

to get 10 Card Kits made up for the October Class, on the 6th!

While I was getting those Cards done, I went ahead and got ALL the months made up!

I have 2 of the 4 Card Kits made up for November!

I am waiting for the NEW Catalog to come out to see what is coming about for

the Holiday’s! I love the Holiday’s!

November and December’s Card Classes are strictly Christmas Card Classes!

The Ladies in Class make 2 each of 4 different Cards. I have 8 Ladies for Class.

I try to make up 10 kits, 2 for samples for the Ladies to put together!

Next Year, I will be going back to the Ladies stamping their own Cards!

I will make up the Kits, pre cut, but all stamping will be theirs to stamp!

For this year, due to COVID-19, I did all the stamping and any coloring.

I wasn’t able to pass around ink pads and pens during the Pandemic.

Now that all are immunized, we can get back to normal!

Last month was the first time we we able to gather, without masks! Aaaah!

I hope you all are well, and have survived this Pandemic.

I think, now I know where the saying

“What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”

I do believe the truth is there, it sound harsh, but it is reality.

We have made it through, now we are as strong as the previous generations

before us, who went through Pandemics and World Wars, the Great Depression and survived.

They came out stronger and more resilient to what is thrown their way.

I believe we now can too!

I wish you ALL Many Blessings, Hugs and Love!

Until we meet again….

Hello All!

I am doing well…the knee replacement surgery, went well.

I am recuperating. My home therapists are pleased with my progress.

I see the Doc for post-op on Tuesday.

The following week, I start the out-patient Physical Therapy (PT)

I am scheduled all the way up to New Year’s Eve!

I also can cancel if those dates will not be needed.

They told me it was easier to schedule all now, than later.

Easier to cancel than schedule! They are a busy place!

I feel like I am progressing. I still get very sore and antzy if I go too long

without the meds. I tried cutting them in half, to no avail.

The Doc reassured me that the meds also help with the healing of the knee!

I do the exercises daily…I want this knee to work better than before!!!

The Doc was right…he wasn’t my friend for the first week after the surgery!

Because I expected, what he said, I won’t cross him off the Christmas Card list!

I will try to keep you all posted with more updates!

But, all in all, I am doing well!

Until the the next Post…Blessings to you ALL!