The rain in southern France

I happened to be listening to the news yesterday and they said that for each meter square, 320 liters of rain fell Sunday night. As I think more in US measurements, that is very close to a 3x3 foot square and that is a LOT of water in one night.  And, it is raining here in Paris again today and the last I heard the southern part of France was to get more.


On a happy note, my daughter got a full time teaching job in Fayetteville NC in August. We were all thrilled for her as Michigan just has nothing to offer her anywhere near where we were living, including further south. But, it did cut into the time we were able to see her this summer as she left to move down before we returned to Paris. That was sad... but being a mom who wants to see her 'child' do the best they can in life, I am very proud of her to accept a job and pack up and move her and her daughter to a place where she knew absolutely no one. Being totally alone in a strange place... even with one other person with you... for some can be thrilling and for others totally traumatic. Going from the North to the South can be like moving to a foreign country in some aspects. Even the food changes, not to mention the accents/words. She seems to be settling in, so is our grand daughter so we are thrilled!! And she is loving her teaching position (6th grade---Math and Science).  Congratulations and we are so proud of you!


I have been back 3 weeks now and did manage to get the candle bag order done for the church. Now to start getting ready for craft shows. Which reminds me. If you have not checked out our other blog, take a moment to do so! You can find it at the left, Turtles Rainbow Gold where I did manage to get it updated about our note cards. As I get other things out and going, I will update it further with our other items. I also need to get a kit or two designed and at least one in the store. Now if I could just figure out a way to clone myself for a few weeks, to get everything I need to do done, and work at the same time, I would be all set!

Turtles Rainbow Gold Blog updated!

I finally put in the cards I do as well... and updated the blog yesterday.   You can go see it here... or click on the posting in the left column, just slightly down talking about Turtles Rainbow Gold. :)

I create some of the cards, and the rest are made from hubby's watercolor paintings. You have to visit all of the pages to see all of the paintings as I only posted the cards that there were no paintings posted for. We do a few craft fairs each fall and some of the cards are always available. We also have wine bottle gift bags, cloth bags for everyday use, doggie scarves and an assortment of other hand-made gift items!  As I begin them this fall I will get photos and get them on the TRG Blog. :)

I do know I over-did yesterday with the unpacking as the ankle is giving me fits today. That will teach me! Ha! I will try and give it some rest by doing some crafting setting down with my leg propped up today. The time is flying by (as normal it seems) and my long list of things I need to get done doesn't seem to be getting any shorter. It actually is getting longer as I do more things. Each item I get done leads me to two or three more that needs done. Makes me think I am looking at my to do list the wrong way!

Home!

How was your summer??

After a nice long, restful vacation we are back in Paris. Unfortunately that vacation included my daughter/granddaughter moving to NC and a trip to the ER for me with torn ligaments in my ankle, but other than that, was restful. Actually the first vacation we have taken in years where we did not have a list of "to do" items. Was hard to leave this year and even with almost 5 weeks of doing nothing, we were still not ready to return to the hustle and bustle of Paris life and work. The time flew while we were there. We did manage to see a few old friends and share a/some meals with friends and family. We only got to the lake once, very rare for us to not be there almost daily.

The next step will be to actually unpack all of the suitcases, including the one that got forgotten when we left (LOL!! :) ), do some cleaning and then start getting ready for craft fairs in a couple of months. The time passes so quickly. I also need to get designing again. Seems like forever that I have not done that. My e-mails have piled up to the point that it will take weeks to get through everything and no clue what I have missed. I don't have to worry about finding things to do for a while do I?  

We did find out (update on old events) that we blew the head gasket on the 1985 Nissan between the 1 and 2 valves. :( So we now own a 1994 (newer but not new) Honda. It actually turned out cheaper to buy that than get the Nissan fixed, but miss that car. It was always so dependable and great on gas mileage. I have it for sale on Craig's list, someone who can fix cars themselves could end up with a great little car if they replace the head/gasket/bolts.... and it does need an exhaust system also. Part of me wants to spend the money to get it fixed, the other part tells me we have a car that runs and as we only need a running car for 5 weeks a year, that it is senseless to get the old one fixed. If we were there full time (and we will be after he retires), that would be different. The car has been in the family since it was new, first my mom had it and I bought it from her and have had it for at least 18 years...the last 12 with it only being run during the vacation in the summer. Hence, the body is in great shape especially as it was 'run into' by a deer 2 different times, once on each side, so the paint job is in great shape for a Michigan car, with minimal rusting. 

It was nice to come back to our own  little apartment, but miss the space and clean air of Northern Michigan.  The ankle is doing better, I am able to actually walk on it (very carefully) but am limping and by evening it is swelled. Guess that is where the ankle wrapping and braces help. Must get to all of that unpacking and trying to find room for what we did bring back!  

Keep your eyes open for the upcoming kits that will hit the store and a freebie or two!!

Club-Deco kit in for July!

Grandma's Home Cooking by Paris Designs
This kit was made with loving thoughts of my great grandmother and grandmother who both taught me a lot about cooking and preserving food of all types. The food was always very well prepared and tasted wonderful. I learned about making pickles, jams, jellies, juices, freezing, canning everything from fruits to meats. It was a fun kit to make and I hope you enjoy using it as much!  This kit was made based on a 12" x 12" 300 DPI page. 

It includes:

12 Backgrounds
27 Elements
2 Quick Pages

Journaling on my LO for the quick page is:

Gma always had a crock of pickles in the corner of the cupbard ‘working’. She always had an apron on and the pig cookie jar was
always full. For as long as I can remember, Gma froze veg’s and fruit, canned extra from their garden and we always had wonderful homemade
jams and jelly. Gma had a summer cabin (left) with an electric stove and a winter home (below) where she cooked on a wood stove. The food
was always wonderful!!

Font: Flow

Special thank yous for CU items used in making this kit are:
Country Clip Art
Cindy Doreksen
Dover Press
Gunhild Storeide
Royanna Fritschman

This is just our portion of the kit for this theme and color scheme.  If you are interested in joining the club, go to www.Deco-Pages.com for more info!!   Or, wait for a month and the kit should be heading into the store!

Hard winter....and almost as hard a spring!

Hello!  I can't believe my last post here was not as long ago as I thought!  It seems like such a long time ago somehow. Just a note to let you know what has been happening. I suffer from SADD.  Seasonal Affective Depressive Disorder. Unfortunately, this winter we did not have much sunshine at all. I was even out every day walking our little dog, and, no help to be found. Just got very wet and cold. :) Winter moved into spring, still overcast, wet, cold... and today, it is still that way. Well, cool, not cold. But raining, overcast...dreary. We will hope that things go uphill from here and I actually start designing and writing again. Keep your fingers crossed!  Between some meds to help get me back on course and supposedly we are having better weather, things should look up.

That said, we are still waiting to get our tickets to go to the states this summer but nothing has officially happened yet. The dog has his computer chip and we still have not gotten our tickets. Well. Soon. Hopefully. Off to do some paperwork before actually pulling up Photoshop and maybe working on a kit! Wheeeeee!

Are you a FaceBook Fan?? We are!

Check out my FB badge, lower down on the right. Connect with us on FB!!  Be friends and neighbors!! See you there!

2nd kit in the store?!?! When Pigs Fly!!

Think you will win the lotto? When Pigs Fly!! Find the fountain of youth or an oil well in your back yard... When Pigs Fly!! 

Well, pigs are flying!!  

This kit can be found in the store at Deco-Pages.com and only at Deco-Pages!!   Check it out here!!

A fun kit based around the saying "When Pigs Fly"...complete with flying pigs in pinks! Perfect for those quick, fun pages or little messages of love.

This kit has 8 backgrounds and 13 elements, all created in 300 DPI and based on a 12" x 12" page.

2 zips to download

Wow!! A new kit in the store.... 2 in fact!!

It has been a while since I have been posting, but work has kept me busy and I feel like I am starting to come up for air.  I put 2 kits in the store (here--Deco-Pages.com)  It is called "Cherry Blossom Love" by Paris Designs.   Preview?  Of course!!

  There are 2 quick pages I did using the kit included as well. Both are of the time in the spring 2009 when my daughter and granddaughter visited us for almost 3 weeks here in Paris! We had a great time. I also wanted to show this kit is not just for love pages, it can be used for anything if the colors work for you! 

 

Bliss -- Feeling Happy by Paris Designs

The Starving Artists Store Train which will open on Feb 1 is going to be great!! Lots of wonderful kits, all with the same color scheme... wow!!  Here is our preview:

 

This is a regular size kit... and will be in the store, February 1 for $3.00!!  We are exclusive to Deco-pages.com.  Here is the link to our store to save you time!!  LINK