Goodbye 2010

I can't believe that 2010 is just about over. This year seemed to fly by so quickly. Today is New Year's Eve.                                          
Do you make New Years resolutions? I don't anymore, because I can't seem to keep many of them. I heard on TV this morning that most New Years resolutions are broken in 2 weeks. Experts suggest we set goals instead. Well, my new goal for 2011 will be to try and create more art than I did this year, hopefully lose some weight and get out and walk more.  But, I just know that I can DEFINATELY keep the New Year's resolutions on the rubber stamped card below. You will notice that I checked off all the boxes. (LOL)
I've had this rubber stamp for I don't know how many years, and today was the first day that I inked it up. Shame on me!!!


Tom and I will go out early tonight for Chinese food and then come home. Exciting night. :-)
I can't manage to stay awake till midnight anymore. Oh well, the New Year comes in whether I stay up to usher it in or if I am fast asleep.
If you are going out to celebrate... don't drink and drive and stay safe.
Wishing you much peace and happiness in 2011.  Happy New Year!!!!!!

After Christmas craft store bargains

Yesterday and today I went to Michael's and A. C. Moore to see what I could find on sale. I had coupons and gift certificates in hand. I didn't take photos of everything, but here are some of the items I found on sale.
3- 12 x 12 pads of Christmas/Holiday scrapbook paper on sale for $3.99-$5.99 each at Michael's. Originally they sold for $14.99-$19.99 each.

a smaller Anna Griffin pad of scrapbook paper for $2.49 at Michael's

a package of felt embellishments, wings, and paper clips also from Michael's

The HUGE plastic snowflake is clear...50 cents, and a pack of small white snowflakes for 50 cents. Found the big snowflake at the Dollar Tree and the small snowflakes came from Michael's.

Tim Holtz embellishments numbers, floral, charm adornments and word sticks


3 packages of Tim Holtz texture fades and 1 package of Sizzix all on sale for 1/2 price at $5 each package of 2. So, not bad, $2.50 for each texture fade. Pretty good sale for these at A. C. Moore, don't you think?  The selection was pretty picked over, but I found the following Rays and Retro set, December calendar and Holiday words set, Collage and Notebook set, and the Sizzix...Diamonds and Snowcap set. 

I also bought a Halloween cricut cartridge for $19.99 at Michael's.
I found some strands of beads in the $1 bins at A. C. Moore. I also picked up 2 craft magazines with coupons at A.C. Moore.
I had a fun 2 days of shopping, and now I have to find the time to play with all of my new stuff.
Have you hit the stores looking for bargains? What did you find that made you happy?
Since I was out most of the day...thank goodness I have leftovers that we can have for supper tonight.

P.S...update...12-30-2010...I found at another A C Moore craft store a Tim Holtz brick/woodgrain texture fade embossing plates.

Only in Massachusetts

I thought this highway sign was funny and I thought that I would share this photo with all of you. Nothing
like stating the obvious.
  
Today I am heading out to A C Moore to see what bargains I can find. I have a few 50% off one regular priced item coupons, and I am hoping I can get some Tim Holtz embossing folders to use with my new Big Kick machine.
 

Unexpected Visitor

Geesh, I just had a scare. (LOL)

I have been feeding a stray kitty since spring. It was born wild, and we can't get close enough to catch it, or I would give it a  home.  The kitty gets along with my kitty. I think the stray kitty is living in the woods next to our side yard, but I have no idea where.

This fall, I put a tarp over the round picnic table on my back deck to protect the food that I put out for this kitty from rain and snow. Just a little bit ago I opened the back door to put out some food and replace the frozen water and got a heck of a surprise. I saw this big rat like tail poking out from under the tarp.  Yuck!  I had a big fat opossum under the tarp/table eating the kitty food!!! Opossums  are the ugliest of creatures.

I slammed the door and called for Tom, but by the time he put shoes on and grabbed a broom, and opened the sliding door, the ugly thing was gone. I had been wondering how one small kitty could eat so much food. Now I know he's had a lot of help, because last week I saw another stray kitty eating from the dish that looks almost like the little one I've been feeding, and tonight the opossum.

I think I have a animal soup kitchen going on under the table on my back deck.  Now, how do I keep this opossum from coming back and eating all of the kitty food?

The morning after the blizzard 12.27.2010

Well, it snowed all during the night and it is still snowing this morning. The TV announcers state this will be the last snowstorm of 2010.  The winds howled during the night and since we live nearer the coast we got a mix of heavy rain/wet snow, instead of light fluffy snow. Our lights flickered on and off, but we didn't lose our power.
Here are a few photos that I took this morning while I was out filling my bird feeders. It is still dark and stormy out, but the storm is winding down. I feel bad for the robin's that are in the backyard. I don't know what they are finding to eat, as they aren't seed eaters. Maybe they are finding berries in the swamp area in the woods.
Downy woodpecker eating from a suet cake.

Red Bellied woodpecker on suet

Below: gorgeous male cardinals
    female cardinal on a snowy spruce branch


back yard ..we had a lot of small tree branches come down

cleaning off the truck and cars

taken from inside the house

Tom's tomato cages standing like soldiers around his  garden
It surely is a winter wonderland outside. With a yardstick this morning, I measured 11 inches of snow. 2010 is going out with a bang.  I'm not going anywhere, and maybe I will work on some art projects this afternoon. Even kitty doesn't want to venture outside. He is curled up in a ball on the floor near my bed in front of the heater vent taking a nap.
The ugly aftermath...after the snow plow goes down the street.
not so pretty now.

Weathermen are predicting a blizzard

It has been snowing since early this  morning, a very heavy wet snow. If the weathermen are correct than we should get at least a  foot of snow by the time this snowstorm ends tomorrow night. I'm hoping that the predictions are wrong. This snow will make for hard and tiring when shoveling.

Today has been a lazy day after all the hectic rushing around the past few weeks. It feels nice to just sit and relax with nothing pressing to do, or errands to run.
Here are a few pictures I snapped on this grey, snowy day of my bird feeders. You can't tell from these photos, but the birds have been feeding heavily all day. As soon as I open a window, most of the birds fly away.
Red Bellied Woodpecker feeding on suet.
tufted titmouse hanging off feeder
I love this big platform feeder with a roof that my Uncle Rei made for me in the 70's. Uncle Rei passed away in the 80's, and I hate taking this feeder down, but it is starting to fall apart, and will need to be replaced.
I have enjoying watching the birds feeding today on the seed that I spread on the ground and in the many feeders I have around the yard.  Lots of cardinals, tufted titmice, black capped chickadees, downy woodpeckers, robin's, Carolina wren, junco's, and blue jays. So colorful.

I have been feeding a stray kitty since spring, but I can't get close enough to catch him. I would take him in if only he would let me near him. Since spring, I thought I was only feeding the one wild/stray kitty, but this morning we determinded that it is 2 cats that look a lot alike that have been coming to the food dishes I leave in a secure, dry area on my back deck. Both of these cats get along with my kitty. I'd love to give them a new home with us.

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope you have a wonderful day enjoying time spent with family and  friends.Wishing you all a day of joy,peace, love and happiness.  2010 just seemed to fly by, isn't it funny how that happens as we get older. 
      

AAWA 12 Day swap...day 12

Well, this morning was the last day of this fun swap. I hate to see the swap end, as it was fun waking up for the past 12 days and knowing I had a small gift package to open.

Today's gift was from Teresa.

Wrapped gift:

sparkly decoupage sheet music bird ornament with glittered wing.

Thanks again to everyone in group 2 for the fun swap. Merry Christmas!!!

AAWA 12 day swap..Day 11

On the 11th. day of Christmas, a package came for me from Sue Day in Texas.
The gift was wrapped in Merry Christmas tissue paper.
The lovely gift I found inside the wrapped package: glass, wood and cooper beaded bracelet with a small butterfly charm. Thanks Sue for the nice bracelet.
Tomorrow will be the last package to open from this fun swap. I will be sorry to see this swap end.

I Bought myself a Christmas present :-)

I have wanted a Sizzix, Big Kick machine for quite sometime, and a few weeks ago, I bought one using a 50% off Michael's coupon. I got the Big Kick home and found that the machine was damaged. I never noticed the damage while I was in the store. What a big disappointment that was.
I had a heck of a time trying to replace the Big Kick. All of the stores around the area had them in the clear plastic packaging, and they were all damaged in the same area.
This morning, I had a lot of errand to run, and didn't think I would be heading to any craft stores, but I decided to print out a 60% off A. C. Moore coupon that was only good for today. Well, you just never know, and it is better have the coupon in your pocketbook then not, right? It is really hard to let a 60% coupon go to waste, don't you think? I must admit, that coupon was calling my name to use it. (LOL) Talk about burning a hole in one's pocket. :-)
 I decided I better go to New Bedford to deliver my cousin Carl's Christmas gifts to him before we had another snowstorm. My cousin is in a long term care facility, and has been since he was 17 years old. He was in a car accident and had a severe head injury. I figured as long as I was in New Bedford, I would drive a little further, and go to North Dartmouth to check out the A.C. Moore store there.
I am so glad that I did. I was lucky, the Big Kick's weren't on sale, and I could use my coupon. The store had received a new shipment of machines, and they were packaged in a sturdy cardboard box instead of the plastic. So, I bought myself a Christmas gift. I left the store very happy.
Do you ever go Christmas shopping and end up buying for yourself? It happens to me every year. :-)
Elaine

AAWA 12 days swap...Day 10

It is a wintery white wonderland outside, and it is still snowing, with more on the way. Guess the children that wished for snow for Christmas got their wish. The birds are flocking to my bird feeders a hungry lot they are.  The roads have been plowed which is good, because I need to go out to finish up my errands.

Today's gift was from Sheila. Below is how the gift was packaged.

Gift inside: 

paper box with ribbon and decorations of pine bough and cones, red berries on top. So pretty.

Goodies inside the box:I tucked the lid inside the box so you could see how the rest of the box was decorated. Thanks, Sheila...I already ate a piece of the chocolate as I was sipping my morning coffee. Yum!

Christmas is Coming, Christmas is Coming

And, I'm not ready. I don't know how the time gets away from me, but it always does. Everytime, I see the Christmas countdown generator on my blog page...I shudder.
I am so behind. I have  gifts to wrap, baking to do, errands that still need to be run, and so many other errands that need to be done before Christmas morning. I know everything will get done, as it always does. I just wish I was more organized.  This snowstorm hasn't helped much either.


I just wanted to take a minute to thank all of you who read my blog. Thanks for all the encouraging comments that you leave too. I love reading them.
I want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and holiday season.
I am blessed and thankful for so many things.
Enjoy this most holy of seasons. Wishing for peace on earth.
Love and Hugs,
Elaine

AAWA 12 days swap...Day 9

This morning we woke up see the ground covered in white. It was still snowing, and it looked like white out conditions as the wind was whipping the falling snow. Our SUV was encased in a sheet of ice.

I was going to upload the photos this morning of Nancy's beautiful gifts, but I forgot I had to baby sit Bella this morning.

Here is the pretty gift bag, ribbon and tag the gift was wrapped in.

Christmas card

beautiful, sparkly paper quilled snowflake ornament. Just lovely!!

Below: a Holiday paper banner..Noel with Santa and Reindeer. Sorry that the picture is so dark.