Daily Ooos: April 27-28: Weekend Edition

[vickyday]

Good Morning to Everyone,
Quick in and out as I need to get ready for church soon.
Won't be doing much today but resting my bones. I did too much in the yard on Friday helping Mark take down the tree and then cleaning it up! So I've been paying for it!

I did get some scrapping done last night after getting home from the women's jubilee. I've been working on ATC's using the word for the day in my "One Good Word a Day" daily devotional. So, even though I was MIA for a while, I was still doing a little scrapping on my own. I will get them together and post them soon. I need to decide how I should post them.....one at a time or an 8.5x11 page at a time, which holds 9 of them. I plan to get them printed at Persnickety, so I create them individually and then add them to a "sheet of paper."

OK, gotta run! Hope you all have a wonderful day! Here's an example (this is the first one I did):

 

[faerywings]

@BrightEyes I hope your arm/shoulder/hand are all doing much better today. Anything repetitive with our hands stinks but that squeeze motion really aggravates the entire arm, doesn't it? I am proud of myself for doing *two* color play LOs haha! No way can I keep up with the rest of the team.

@bcgal00 I bet the new kitchen lights are super helpful so you can keep it light when you are cooking (don't chop too close to your fingertips LOL) but dimmed at night so you can relax. I am in awe of your purging- and you are right, you have been dropping stuff at VV since your Vancouver days- how do you still have stuff to get rid of?
You are so generous! Thank you for offering to share your photos. But I can't take you up on it or I'd be distracted in my house from being 100% entranced. I know my BFF *loved* the hummingbird one I gave her for Christmas a couple of years ago. ♥
Hope that you and D are having a good time preparing for the games. Will Jen join in too? How is Bella? Being sweet and fluffy? Of course, she is. LOL

@Cherylndesigns You are getting slammed with all of the wet, soggy weather. Hope that you see the sun soon. The yucky weather sure doesn't help with mood or energy levels. pfft.
How was the fair? Did you find anything cute to bring home?

@AK_Tracy That has to be hard driving into the sun when it's at that low angle. And you all must have suuuuper long shadows.
I don't think I'd ever want to see a grizzly bear. Moose look cute but seeing how fast they can run-- yeah. I'd keep my distance from them as well. The bald eagles are making a comeback in my area. I saw one once years and years ago but a local photographer posts photos on FB regularly of ones he sees. Lots of juveniles which is pretty awesome. There is a blue heron that lives on the beaver pond where I hike. I saw its legs last year as it flew off and haven't seen it since. Scott sees and hears it quite often so I hope to see it again.
When we put the trail cam up, we saw opossums, coyote, fox, bears, groundhogs, raccoons, and rabbits. And squirrels. Squirrels are the most ridiculous animals and would watch the videos of them over and over again. Something about squirrels falling off of trees cracked us up.
Cray-cray is a good thing. Just ask Cheryl. We are allll a little it's part of our charm.

@vickyday Wow!! Your walking pace is fantastic! I'm glad you are noticing it is getting a lot easier too. I truly hope that all of the health mess you went through will help you turn the corner and feel awesome again.
I love that you are making birdhouses out back. I wish I could come and visit with my binoculars
I hope that you can rest up a little today, you have been running non-stop.

@mimes1 You hijacked your own thread!? In case you haven't realized it yet, you are officially One of Us. ha!!!!
My family has been hearing about "My Oscraps friends" for so long and think of you guys all as extended family. For Caitlyn's engagement party, Cheryl and Linda sent recipes to include in the Family Cookbook they were making. And the laughing at theads and posts---
Big hugs to you if you need a lift after the support group meeting. It has to be difficult to go there but I agree with the leader, that it's good for the entire group to have representation and support, wherever they are on their journey.

 

[faerywings]

Sorry about the weird end to my post ^^
My battery backup froze and I had to post quickly or I would have lost it in the restart.

Amy- the craft fair and visit with your SIL sounds like a wonderful time. The birdhouse necklaces are right up your alley
Would you believe that I never had a pet growing up? My DH always had cats/dogs/birds. Meanwhile, my DS is going through pet withdrawal since his landlord has a no-pet policy. I swear, he comes here to visit with the dogs more than us. hehe!
A vinegaroon is a whip scorpion. Not a true scorpion but looks like one. They shoot a weak acid out of their tails in defense. He was really neat. And he could fold himself in half to clean his tail. The first time my kids saw him do that, they were *horrified!*
Oh my goodness, my mother would have killed me if I brought a snake into he the house! Then she would have thrown the silverware- drawer and all - into the garbage.


@wombat146 Sooooo true about this group
I wish I could meet every one of you!

Better sign off. I *try* to be off of the computer by 8 and here it is, almost 9.

 

[BrightEyes]

Morning, gals. The arm and hand are a bit better today but still achy. So will take another day of not doing much and hope they feel better tomorrow. Yes, using the sprayer did a number on the hand and arm. We had rain off and on yesterday and early this morning and it was cool (only got to 60 yesterday with high humidity). Did a few loads of laundry but read most of the day. I was in the mood for music so played CDs while doing the laundry. I also spend some time looking out into the backyard... and seeing the birds (think it is the same pair that I took photos of earlier). Also saw a couple of hummingbirds in the neighbor's tree and then they would flit over to my peach tree and then to my plum tree. Most of the trees in the neighborhood have bloomed and now have lots of green leaves. Been seeing more and more birds flying around. Even saw the neighborhood road runner darting across the road on Friday.

It is wonderful to have the new gals jumping right in and chatting away!!! I am reading the posts and enjoying all the back and forth... and high-jacking threads. Usually I am posting more but know you will understand why I am being less chatting than normal. Need to pop over to the April Color Play that I am hosting and that will have to be it for today. HAGD

 

[bcgal00]

@bcgal00 Hi Rae - What kind of area are your favorite birding spots? What are some of the birds you've seen in your area? I love that there are so many here that love birds and nature.

Amy - since moving to Alberta a few months ago I am still learning of the good birding spots but one thing that I find awesome about the Calgary area is the amount of very large parks within the city. One park has over 62 miles of trails. It is the second largest urban park in Canada. There are many other birding parks that are huge, I think I've been to about 8 of them so far. I have seen lots of woodpeckers, owls, eagles, hawks, flickers, herons and lots more. I have just started going to the well known migration wetlands pathway of Frank Lake (about 20 min from my house) in southern Alberta. This last week there were trumpeter swans, tundra swans, american avocets, coots, herons and lots of various ducks. I think there are about 30 regular species coming through and some irregular ones show up too.

 

[AK_Tracy]

Good Morning to Everyone,
Quick in and out as I need to get ready for church soon.
Won't be doing much today but resting my bones. I did too much in the yard on Friday helping Mark take down the tree and then cleaning it up! So I've been paying for it!

I did get some scrapping done last night after getting home from the women's jubilee. I've been working on ATC's using the word for the day in my "One Good Word a Day" daily devotional. So, even though I was MIA for a while, I was still doing a little scrapping on my own. I will get them together and post them soon. I need to decide how I should post them.....one at a time or an 8.5x11 page at a time, which holds 9 of them. I plan to get them printed at Persnickety, so I create them individually and then add them to a "sheet of paper."

OK, gotta run! Hope you all have a wonderful day! Here's an example (this is the first one I did):
View attachment 417917

Vicky this is beautiful!!!!! I love the key. Its so realistic. I also love Ephesians and this quote it great!

 

[bcgal00]

Good morning ladies. Two out of 3 photo orders are ready so I think the final one should be ready later this morning. I'll head out to VV to drop off a few boxes (I know, Chris, how do I keep finding things to purge LOL), get my photos and want to look at decorative storage boxes for my office.

It feels good to have some of my photos displayed around the house now. I hung another 5 yesterday and am going to hang 6 more this afternoon after I finish getting the prints into the frames. I was thrilled to find a few hundred photos from our Alaska trip in 2015. I thought I had lost them all after a hard drive crash where I lost thousands of photos. Then I will start on organizing the media room. The previous owners put up movie posters but they will come down eventually as I start filling up those walls with my photos. I will display family photos in that room and some of my scrapbook AJ pages.

I'm going to try out the new rice maker today (turkey sausages, brown rice, tomato base sauce and veggies for dinner tonight) and will be making up a batch of basmati rice for our mexican train group on Tues (we are having a potluck lunch) of butter chicken, dahl, rice, hummus/roti and whatever else the group brings. Should be really good. If I have time I am going to try my luck at making my own hummus, never did that before. I'll make it on Monday, that way if it doesn't work out, I have time to go buy some.

I'm out every day this coming week and still need to find time to get taxes done, probably the following week. How did life get so busy????

@AK_Tracy I can only imagine what your life is like in Alaska. I would be out every day photographing the wildlife, birds and landscape. Maybe it's a good thing I don't live there LOL. Whereabouts are you in Alaska? I've cruised up the inside passage a few times but would like to explore the Anchorage area if I go back.

@BrightEyes How wonderful to see the hummers outside, Kay. We don't get a lot of them here.

I'd better shower and get on with my day, lots of little things to do. HAGD everyone.

 

[AK_Tracy]

@AK_Tracy That has to be hard driving into the sun when it's at that low angle. And you all must have suuuuper long shadows.
I don't think I'd ever want to see a grizzly bear. Moose look cute but seeing how fast they can run-- yeah. I'd keep my distance from them as well. The bald eagles are making a comeback in my area. I saw one once years and years ago but a local photographer posts photos on FB regularly of ones he sees. Lots of juveniles which is pretty awesome. There is a blue heron that lives on the beaver pond where I hike. I saw its legs last year as it flew off and haven't seen it since. Scott sees and hears it quite often so I hope to see it again.
When we put the trail cam up, we saw opossums, coyote, fox, bears, groundhogs, raccoons, and rabbits. And squirrels. Squirrels are the most ridiculous animals and would watch the videos of them over and over again. Something about squirrels falling off of trees cracked us up.
Cray-cray is a good thing. Just ask Cheryl. We are allll a little it's part of our charm.

Sunglasses. Just gonna say sunglasses. If ya dont have em, you dont drive There are two times a year that are really bad. It is when the sun starts to gain daylight and rise earlier. Hits the roads straight into your face and you just cant see. Weirdly we look forward to it in Feb/March as we know its getting light again. Always on the way to church too. God's saying hi and he didn't forget us. The sun is coming.

If you make it up here, I'll let you pet the brown bear! Hubby was called out by fish and game to deal with a problem brown and they let him keep the hide. So we have a brown bear run. He's surprisingly soft. Not like cuddly soft but not as course as I expected him to be. The grand kids think hes cool but took them a long time to step foot into my bedroom (where the bear is) and they would point at my door and say bear. Then they would look back at mom like hey grandma has a bear, what do we do with this info? Its was so funny. Then to ask them if they wanted to pet it No Grandma you crazy.

I am so glad the ATC card idea was a good one. And to attach to Hershey kisses is super fun.

Hey, is my type italic? how did that happen? All I have done is type, must have hit a key and didn't know sorry.

 

[AK_Tracy]

@AK_Tracy I can only imagine what your life is like in Alaska. I would be out every day photographing the wildlife, birds and landscape. Maybe it's a good thing I don't live there LOL. Whereabouts are you in Alaska? I've cruised up the inside passage a few times but would like to explore the Anchorage area if I go back.

It is fun and easy to photograph this great state. I think between the mountains and my dogs they take up 90% of my photos. It really never gets old. My favorite is Sleeping Lady (Mt Susitna) She was my view growing up and I miss seeing her sunsets. As for me, and my location, I dont give that out. If you want to see some amazing wildlife, and have an experience, go to Denali. Take the tour bus and oh my goodness. Pack a sweater. It goes from 70 down to 15 at night. When my kids were little, we tent camped (brrrrr) and it was amazing. But the best was the bus ride back into the mountain. So much wildlife and views. Or go to Chena Hotsprings near Fairbanks. The ice house is amazing. Its a building that is full of ice sculptures. It even has an ice bar with hand crafted shot glasses of ice. Valdez is super fun and quirky, like Homer. Both fun places to visit. If you want to truly experience in AK dont stay in the cities. They're just cities and nowhere near what AK has to offer. Yes, there are fun places both in Anchorage and Fairbanks, but if you are going to spend the money to get up here, get out of town. Take a halibut charter and see how open and vast the water is. Take the train and get back into the woods and see some amazing sites. So yeah, there's my tourist plug for AK LOL I have so many eagle and moose photos. And Mountains. Even the trees when the hoarfrost covers them. Sparkles like diamonds.Yes, you'll all get to see some when I get to scrapping my layouts.

 

[AK_Tracy]

Another beautiful day here. Sun is out. She's high up and not blinding now. Suppose to get to about 55-60. Wont be back until late tonight. Its our final youth group night at church and for that I make pizza. Will start making crusts right after church and then feed about 120 people (families not just teens). Its so much fun. My friends and I make 18 pizzas that are 16x24, pepperoni and cheese. Then we make salad and desserts. This is my love language, let me cook and feed you!!! HAGD and see you this evening.

 

[bcgal00]

It is fun and easy to photograph this great state. I think between the mountains and my dogs they take up 90% of my photos. It really never gets old. My favorite is Sleeping Lady (Mt Susitna) She was my view growing up and I miss seeing her sunsets. As for me, and my location, I dont give that out. If you want to see some amazing wildlife, and have an experience, go to Denali. Take the tour bus and oh my goodness. Pack a sweater. It goes from 70 down to 15 at night. When my kids were little, we tent camped (brrrrr) and it was amazing. But the best was the bus ride back into the mountain. So much wildlife and views. Or go to Chena Hotsprings near Fairbanks. The ice house is amazing. Its a building that is full of ice sculptures. It even has an ice bar with hand crafted shot glasses of ice. Valdez is super fun and quirky, like Homer. Both fun places to visit. If you want to truly experience in AK dont stay in the cities. They're just cities and nowhere near what AK has to offer. Yes, there are fun places both in Anchorage and Fairbanks, but if you are going to spend the money to get up here, get out of town. Take a halibut charter and see how open and vast the water is. Take the train and get back into the woods and see some amazing sites. So yeah, there's my tourist plug for AK LOL I have so many eagle and moose photos. And Mountains. Even the trees when the hoarfrost covers them. Sparkles like diamonds.Yes, you'll all get to see some when I get to scrapping my layouts.

Sure sounds amazing! Yes, Denali is on my list of places to go to.

 

[vickyday]

Well hello everyone! It's been a busy day!! First off, I didn't wake up until 8:30 which is stupid late for me - usually I'm up around 5:30 am to do my bible study while the house is quiet. But, I have to tell you all, I was up waaaaay to late having the best time with @wombat146 and @AK_Tracy and @joyfulheartdesigns. Helpful tips, laughter, plus a little hijacking of my own, it was so. much. fun!!! I kept laughing out loud at my computer while Mark was trying to sleep and he kept waking up and wanting to know why I was laughing so much. This morning Mark of course commented on it, and as I was trying to explain what was so funny, I couldn't explain it one, because he wouldn't understand the humor, and two, because I was laughing so hard all over again I couldn't even tell Mark the story. So. It was worth the staying up way too late!

Today was the first Alzheimers support group meeting since my mom died. Last months meeting was on the day we buried my mom. It was good to see everyone, but very emotional for me. I was able to share some insight about caregiving that I've gained since my mom died. Hindsight, you know? It was really nice because the leader commented that all phases of the disease are represented in the attendees from new diagnoses to those who have had loved ones pass. Everybody helps everybody in the sharing of their individual experiences. It was really good to be there. Very encouraging and uplifting.

Then I went to a local craft fair with my SIL. We missed her 65th birthday in the wake of my mom passing so we did the craft fair then spent the rest of the afternoon at lunch. We sat there for hours, and finally left lunch at 5:30 PM!! At the craft fair there was this vendor that made super cute jewelry, hair clips, crosses etc out of old spoon handles. She even had created little bird houses and put them on necklace chains. So adorable! I bought two for a couple of my zoo friends. I retired almost 4 years ago, and me and these two other ladies have a text thread, and it's been active without a break that entire time. So I got them both one of these cute bird house necklaces for Christmas. Never too soon to pick up gifts when you see something that reminds you of someone! And there's enough bird lovers here that I though you all would appreciate the description of the item.

Just checked in at Scrap Girls - 3 days and counting to the end - and now I'm here catching up. Hope you all had a good day, now I'll go back through and make individual comments.

Amy, when did your mom pass? My mom died of Alzheimer's disease, too, back in 2005. It is the saddest disease I know of! BIG HUGS to you!

I would love to see a picture of the little bird house necklaces you bought! Sounds so unique!

 

[vickyday]

Vicky this is beautiful!!!!! I love the key. Its so realistic. I also love Ephesians and this quote it great!

Thanks, Tracy!

 

[vickyday]

Achooooooo!
Pollen levels are Very High and my nose sure agrees with that. Will that stop me from being outside? Heck no!

How was everyone's Saturday? I was outside for hours and I loved it. Slowly but surely, I am getting the gardens cleared out and assessing what needs to be removed or thinned out. Scott has three blueberry bushes that have been in different states of poor health for years. Two of them are coming back and the one- it's a stick in the ground. LOL Just Like my rosemary. *sobs* I will give every plant a chance to grow well past its expiration date. Occasionally, it's worth it, like the blueberry bushes and a small azalea that everyone told me to rip out last year. It might be small but it is getting ready to bloom. So there.
Still no critters other than bugs and worms. I am keeping an eye out for TJ the Toad. I don't want to clear the leaves where I found him last year just yet but I'm hoping that he comes out for some sunshine soon. Today would be nice. *nods*
I also put up my hummingbird feeders and am waiting impatiently. My local FB page has reports of sightings so I know they are in the area. Please come back to meeeeee!!!

After a couple of hours in the yard, I went for a walk with my friend and caught up with her. had a nice shower, made some dinner (mozzarella stick grilled cheese and big salad), and watched some TV with Caitlyn and Gary.
Is anyone watching 3 Body Problem? It's really engaging but I don't think I understand any of it!

It is supposed to get into the upper 70s today so you all know where I am going to be. First I need to get ready for the week ahead and start some of the ATC cards I am going to make for the May/June Bash Gifts. @AK_Tracy came up with the idea and I think it's great. I am going to make ATCs and attach them to bags of Hershey Kisses. It should be easy enough to make a basic template and then edit it to say Happy B-day/Mother's' Day/anniversary etc. TY Tracy!

Sending you all big happy hugs!

Chris, feel free (to save yourself time) if you want, to use the attached ATC template I made for myself. No credit required, LOL!
Well, never mind! Apparently you can't upload PSD files here. I'll see if I can figure something else out for you.
OK, how about a png?

 

[vickyday]

It is fun and easy to photograph this great state. I think between the mountains and my dogs they take up 90% of my photos. It really never gets old. My favorite is Sleeping Lady (Mt Susitna) She was my view growing up and I miss seeing her sunsets. As for me, and my location, I dont give that out. If you want to see some amazing wildlife, and have an experience, go to Denali. Take the tour bus and oh my goodness. Pack a sweater. It goes from 70 down to 15 at night. When my kids were little, we tent camped (brrrrr) and it was amazing. But the best was the bus ride back into the mountain. So much wildlife and views. Or go to Chena Hotsprings near Fairbanks. The ice house is amazing. Its a building that is full of ice sculptures. It even has an ice bar with hand crafted shot glasses of ice. Valdez is super fun and quirky, like Homer. Both fun places to visit. If you want to truly experience in AK dont stay in the cities. They're just cities and nowhere near what AK has to offer. Yes, there are fun places both in Anchorage and Fairbanks, but if you are going to spend the money to get up here, get out of town. Take a halibut charter and see how open and vast the water is. Take the train and get back into the woods and see some amazing sites. So yeah, there's my tourist plug for AK LOL I have so many eagle and moose photos. And Mountains. Even the trees when the hoarfrost covers them. Sparkles like diamonds.Yes, you'll all get to see some when I get to scrapping my layouts.

Yes, I absolutely LOVE the scenery shown on the AK reality shows! I could never live there, though! I hate the cold, LOL! I love it from afar! I would love to be locked inside of a glass house (with heat) so I could take photos from all sides! Then hop back in a warm vehicle to leave, LOL! My idea of winter is one good snowfall so I can take pictures and then it can all melt away the next day (which is usually what happens here in NC!)

 

[JeanneMN]

We are heading to a concert @ 5:30. It's the SE MN Honors Choir my son was in for four years. Only time I've been out of the US was summer of 1998 when we chaperoned their first European tour to the Czech Republic, my ancestral country, and Austria which I'd wanted to see since I saw Sound of Music for the first time. It was ahhhhh-mazing. Anyway the artistic director (an ER doc when not conducting) and his wife (the accompanist) are retiring from the choir and this is their final performance. It will be bittersweet, they've touched the lives of thousands and thousands of kids with the gift of music and performing.

Every time I think I'm making headway scrapping, I get slogged down again. I'm not sure how many times I need to watch and rewatch Anna's tutorials, before it sinks in and stays sunk and not in the abyss. I think I'm trying to get to the advanced stuff like extractions before I've drilled the basics into my noggin. Anywho, here is my question for the day....it's ridiculous, I know, but I don't want to get kicked out for violating gallery rules. I did a page on a cruise ship coming into Key West and the logo features a mermaid who seems to have misplaced her top enroute. The pic isn't big, I'm just wondering if I need to give her an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini to wear. I'd actually considered it before I got bogged down with what I couldn't remember.

PS. I gave her the bikini top and after I uploaded you can't see her that close up anyway, exactly the way somebody would want to see me in one, next state over at least.

 

[Cherylndesigns]

Good afternoon,

This day is getting away from me. I wanted to get out in the front garden today because the ground is soft from all the rain we've gotten. Now, we're all going to dinner and I have to wash my hair before we go. Either that or I'll have to wear a baseball cap. I wore one all day yesterday and today I have a bad case of "hat hair"!

Chris @faerywings we had fun yesterday - we went to a volleyball game first -it was an energetic one and Ava's BF was playing his heart out. It was so stinking winding yesterday that the festival was about to blow away. People's tents were all "trying" to be held down with sandbags tied to the legs, but things were blowing off their tables. I felt so bad for all of those people. I have done festivals and they're a lot of work. One lady said they were probably going to have to shut down early because of it. Ava bought me a new drinking container for Mother's Day. It has sugar skulls all over it. That's all we bought at the festival, but a new shop had just opened on the main street, so we had to go in. The prices were SO low that we thought we were seeing things. The owner said they are planning on keeping things very affordable. I bought a big, thick, heavy wood "Welcome" sign for my porch - you know I love my welcome signs. This one is dark wood and matches my front door perfectly. I also got a beautiful pitcher with Lemons on it. I just set it out and will probably put some flowers in it at some point. I have some tall sunflowers somewhere that I might put in it. I just have to remember where I put them - they're probably in the trunk with the answer to everything.

Kay @BrightEyes glad you're feeling better soreness wise and good to take it easy today.

Waving to everybody - I really must get off of here and decide if I have time to go out and dig some holes and still get my hair washed. For anybody who doesn't have long, thick, curly hair like me and Chris @faerywings you don't know what a major job washing our hair is.

XOXO

 

[mimes1]

Hi Amy,
Before I forget, I love your siggy!

@vickyday Thank you so much!
I forgot to tell you also that we have two big bird feeder complexes in our back yard. We have all kinds of trimmed branches hanging off the posts so there's lots of perching options. Also your ATC up there is beautiful!!

 

[mimes1]

Morning, gals. The arm and hand are a bit better today but still achy. So will take another day of not doing much and hope they feel better tomorrow. Yes, using the sprayer did a number on the hand and arm. We had rain off and on yesterday and early this morning and it was cool (only got to 60 yesterday with high humidity). Did a few loads of laundry but read most of the day. I was in the mood for music so played CDs while doing the laundry. I also spend some time looking out into the backyard... and seeing the birds (think it is the same pair that I took photos of earlier). Also saw a couple of hummingbirds in the neighbor's tree and then they would flit over to my peach tree and then to my plum tree. Most of the trees in the neighborhood have bloomed and now have lots of green leaves. Been seeing more and more birds flying around. Even saw the neighborhood road runner darting across the road on Friday.

It is wonderful to have the new gals jumping right in and chatting away!!! I am reading the posts and enjoying all the back and forth... and high-jacking threads. Usually I am posting more but know you will understand why I am being less chatting than normal. Need to pop over to the April Color Play that I am hosting and that will have to be it for today. HAGD

@BrightEyes - I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. Resting and reading sounds like just what you needed! Sounds peaceful.
How far north are you that you have hummingbirds already? Or are you out west? It's a little too early here I think to put them out but maybe not? We're still new here and am still learning about the local movements of the birds. In San Diego we pretty much left the hummingbird feeders out all year.

 

[mimes1]

It is fun and easy to photograph this great state. I think between the mountains and my dogs they take up 90% of my photos. It really never gets old. My favorite is Sleeping Lady (Mt Susitna) She was my view growing up and I miss seeing her sunsets. As for me, and my location, I dont give that out. If you want to see some amazing wildlife, and have an experience, go to Denali. Take the tour bus and oh my goodness. Pack a sweater. It goes from 70 down to 15 at night. When my kids were little, we tent camped (brrrrr) and it was amazing. But the best was the bus ride back into the mountain. So much wildlife and views. Or go to Chena Hotsprings near Fairbanks. The ice house is amazing. Its a building that is full of ice sculptures. It even has an ice bar with hand crafted shot glasses of ice. Valdez is super fun and quirky, like Homer. Both fun places to visit. If you want to truly experience in AK dont stay in the cities. They're just cities and nowhere near what AK has to offer. Yes, there are fun places both in Anchorage and Fairbanks, but if you are going to spend the money to get up here, get out of town. Take a halibut charter and see how open and vast the water is. Take the train and get back into the woods and see some amazing sites. So yeah, there's my tourist plug for AK LOL I have so many eagle and moose photos. And Mountains. Even the trees when the hoarfrost covers them. Sparkles like diamonds.Yes, you'll all get to see some when I get to scrapping my layouts.

You should work for the Chamber of Commerce. You are a great advocate for your state tourism!

 

[mimes1]

It's been another busy day here. We went to Sunday School and then church, then some errands, then we went to a book launch party for a friend of mine who just published a book! If anyone is interested let me know and I'll send you the title. Then this afternoon I finished the last of the thank you's for moms services, gifts, flowers, cards and donations. They are all done and I feel refreshed by the completion, kind of like with that task done, I can look forward a little easier. It's hard to explain.
Hope you all have a good rest of your evening!

 

[AK_Tracy]

We are heading to a concert @ 5:30. It's the SE MN Honors Choir my son was in for four years. Only time I've been out of the US was summer of 1998 when we chaperoned their first European tour to the Czech Republic, my ancestral country, and Austria which I'd wanted to see since I saw Sound of Music for the first time. It was ahhhhh-mazing. Anyway the artistic director (an ER doc when not conducting) and his wife (the accompanist) are retiring from the choir and this is their final performance. It will be bittersweet, they've touched the lives of thousands and thousands of kids with the gift of music and performing.

Every time I think I'm making headway scrapping, I get slogged down again. I'm not sure how many times I need to watch and rewatch Anna's tutorials, before it sinks in and stays sunk and not in the abyss. I think I'm trying to get to the advanced stuff like extractions before I've drilled the basics into my noggin. Anywho, here is my question for the day....it's ridiculous, I know, but I don't want to get kicked out for violating gallery rules. I did a page on a cruise ship coming into Key West and the logo features a mermaid who seems to have misplaced her top enroute. The pic isn't big, I'm just wondering if I need to give her an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini to wear. I'd actually considered it before I got bogged down with what I couldn't remember.

PS. I gave her the bikini top and after I uploaded you can't see her that close up anyway, exactly the way somebody would want to see me in one, next state over at least.

I found notes help!! When I watched the tutorial on sketches, I wrote the simplified version down in notes. So I pull it up each time I want to make a sketch out of a photo. Helps me so much. Extraction too. I have notes saved on my laptop and pull them up to make sure I got all the directions LOL

 

[AK_Tracy]

Waving to everybody - I really must get off of here and decide if I have time to go out and dig some holes and still get my hair washed. For anybody who doesn't have long, thick, curly hair like me and Chris @faerywings you don't know what a major job washing our hair is.

XOXO

Mine is thick and semi curly, getting curlier as I age. But I cut it short. To thick and gives me a headache. Its just touching my shoulders. I feel your pain!

 

[AK_Tracy]

It's been another busy day here. We went to Sunday School and then church, then some errands, then we went to a book launch party for a friend of mine who just published a book! If anyone is interested let me know and I'll send you the title. Then this afternoon I finished the last of the thank you's for moms services, gifts, flowers, cards and donations. They are all done and I feel refreshed by the completion, kind of like with that task done, I can look forward a little easier. It's hard to explain.
Hope you all have a good rest of your evening!

Sounds like a busy but good day! Message me the title of the book your friend wrote. I would love to take a peek. It is a huge deal to finish the thank you cards. I failed in that department when my dad died in 2011. I never wrote the thank you cards. Life overwhelmed me and then after a year it felt silly to try and do. I totally understand the 'breath' moment at being done.

 

[vickyday]

@vickyday Thank you so much!
I forgot to tell you also that we have two big bird feeder complexes in our back yard. We have all kinds of trimmed branches hanging off the posts so there's lots of perching options. Also your ATC up there is beautiful!!

Amy, I would love to see a picture of your bird feeders! Mark and I want to start working on ours today after he gets off work!

 

[vickyday]

It's been another busy day here. We went to Sunday School and then church, then some errands, then we went to a book launch party for a friend of mine who just published a book! If anyone is interested let me know and I'll send you the title. Then this afternoon I finished the last of the thank you's for moms services, gifts, flowers, cards and donations. They are all done and I feel refreshed by the completion, kind of like with that task done, I can look forward a little easier. It's hard to explain.
Hope you all have a good rest of your evening!

I would love the name of your friend's book! How cool is that to know someone who is published!