Catching up.....

So much has happened over the past week or so. We've said hello & goodbye to a sweet little friend who came to stay with us after suffering some tensions at home. Thankfully she is doing well with her carer family.

Work continues to be a challenge. Heck owning your own business is a challenge...... I never cease to be amazed by Murray's fortitude and perseverance. Even when things are seemingly at their worst, he seems to find the courage and the strength to carry on. It's been a stressful time and it never ceases to amaze me that sometimes people can be so hell bent to create problems can't find something better to do with their time. Sadly often innocent people get dragged into situations they need not be involved with. Those creating the problems simply have no consience and don't care who they hurt & what damage they do in the process. It's just all about them.... God forgive them!

Throughout all of this I've managed to remain sane and keep scrapping.

JUST another week

I'm not quite sure when it was that I "ran over that chinaman" as the saying goes - but I sure need to keep a better watch on where I'm driving.......

What a week! And it's only Tuesday.



This is Steven with his favourite toy "Mr. Greebly". Steven was a showdog but over recent years has just been the resident toy hound and food critic. Well actually he couldn't really be described as a food critic because I'm convinced he would have eaten ANYTHING you put in his foodbowl. He had the MOST amazing face - earned him the name Face Cake! LOL We even make biscuits in his honour - Face Cake biscuits....... Lakeisha said to me tonight we will have to make some Face Cakes.... Yes we will have to make some. Don't ask why - I'm not sure how he got it - but he also had the nickname "Dibble". In fact often it was Dibble Face Cake. Poor dogs in this home - they get the weirdest names at times...... but they seem happy......

Anyway - sadly Steven was diagnosed with Cancer last week and was really starting to show signs of not being well and I had to make the very difficult decision today to let him go before he really started to suffer. He was just the sweetest little dog. I think we'll remember always the way his eyes used to bug out when we had Sticky Date Pudding for dinner. He LOOOOOVVVVVED sticky date pudding. He loved his bikky at night and he loved to be loved. And he was pretty easy to love. Not a mean bone in that body. Just such a cute dog... I'll just miss him to bits. RIP Dibble. I will always luv ya.............

And just to top off the absolute WORST day........ hmmmmmmm a bushfire just a couple of kms up the road. According to the DSE website it's meant to be contained but I had to admit I was a wee bit nervous for a while. Thankfully the wind was blowing the "right" way for it not to be a threat to us.... but a bushfire is a bushfire and a wind change can mean the difference between safe and gone in a matter of minutes.

I need sleep......... will post details of new layouts when I've had some. Cheers folks.
Maree

Perfect weekend....

Just scrapped till I dropped really........... one more to add to the list......

cheers

Maree

October DT Layouts

This weekend I've managed to play with my new Design Team package from The Scrap Pile which arrived late last week. Came up with a couple that I really like.

The scan doesn't do either of them justice I don't think, especially the Angels Dream 2 LO as you can't clearly see the journaling or the Angels part of the title. It's much better in real life.

Talking to a couple of local ladies yesterday who do scrapping and especially one who said she was about to start on albums for her children and it got me to wondering about my random scrapping.... I guess it depends mostly on my mood at the time, but sometimes I grab a photo and go hunting for the right paper, but then other times I have the paper & embellies all picked out before I even figure out which photo to scrap. I guess that explains why I'm kind of all over the place on what I've scrapped & what I haven't. Plus the fact that I'll be re-scrapping some pics anyway since the original LO's went in the large collection to Lakeisha's Dad for his birthday gift, and there were of course some special milestones in there that I want for my own collection as well.

I'm yet to make a start on the paper I brought home from my LSS and I guess now that some of my commitment to Cass has been finalised for the month, I can start looking at some of that as well. It will be heaps of fun making up the kits - another challenge in itself to keep the cost to a reasonable level but at the same time make a kit that gives some flexibility in terms of what you can create with it......

Plus at this rate I am going to have to do some serious work on my office to clean up and make some extra room for storage for all the additional bits and pieces. So many jobs - so little time.

Hope everyone had a great weekend...

cheers

Maree

TGIF

Yep - it's Friday!!!!! yeah.
The boys had fun last night - last summer there were a few days where we had the crew out working on the property practicing with chainsaws & brushcutters, and we cut down heaps of tea-tree to try to create a larger buffer around the house & kennels in case of fire. But of course the employees of the time in their wisdom put the pile of tops to be burned right next to the pile of trunks that were to be cut up for firewood - so the tops have just been sitting there - major fire hazard and a haven for snakes - right behind the kennels.

So yesterday when the boys got rained out, and given we had to pay them for 3 hours whether they worked or not - I came up with the great idea that since it wasn't raining at home, maybe they could come and move the keeper stuff to another location and clean up a couple of other areas that had just been heaped.

So when Murray & Paul got home last night, lets just say there was a little bonfire happening out the back. Murray just loves those fires........... obviously a boy thing. Anyway it burned the worst of it and just as it was reaching a peak - down came the rain. Mother nature's own fire extinguisher... Timing is everything. Now just have to get rid of the HUGE pile of trunks which is... did I mention HUGE??????

Created another LO this morning and now off to bath some dogs.

Have a Great Weekend!!!

cheers

Maree

Scraplifting

Just finished a new layout as a part of a challenge at http://www.scrap-pile.com.au - Kim's October Scraplift Challenge. I decided to make it a bit more of a challenge so I chose the person who's scrapping style is probably least like mine and also selected the most viewed LO on the site...... and came up with this

I have to say I don't mind it even though it's a bit different. Anyway I scraplifted Katie Toland's "Observe The Love" layout found here - http://www.scrap-pile.com.au/gallery/displayimage.php?album=topn&cat=0&pos=0 Sorry Katie if I kind of made it my own! LOL

OK I'm off to bed.

cheers

Maree

The LSS Experience

This week has been pretty cruisey I guess so far.... I still need a holiday LOL.

First off a huge well done... gee that doesn't even seem to go near enough congratulations.... to Anne O'Keefe on winning Best in Show at the Melbourne Royal with her gorgeous Cocker Tully. I kept checking the emails looking for results on Saturday in between preparing for Sunday's show and I was thrilled to read she won Best Gundog, but when the results came through for Best in Show I was so excited for her. Wishing now I had been there watching as I'm sure it would have been a very emotional day for Anne & Dennis. Well done guys - thoroughly deserved... Their website is at http://www.dogs.net.au/glenayden/ Go give Tully a Cyber Pat via the guestbook!

Sunday, Lakeisha & I had a really nice day at the show in Kyneton. The weather was perfect, gorgeous sunshine and a bit of breeze to keep the temperature just right. We won Best of Breed with Hogan, but didn't go any further. To say the Foxies had a bad day would be a gross understatement... probably better not to mention it LOL. Had a nice day though which is what it's all about.

I did my demonstration at my local Scrapbooking Store (well I'm working on it being more of an LSS..... I've finally got her checking out BasicGrey & others) yesterday. Some lovely ladies and we chatted and looked at LO's and then I did one. I had prepared a bit of stuff, but clearly didn't allow for the chatting and explanations so it took a little longer than I thought to finish but I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

It was a pic of Lakeisha and her friend Chris - I love the photo because it's just "so both of them". I love the friendship they have because it's based on such a wonderful mutual respect for one another and I really do think regardless of whatever else is going on in their lives, they will always find the time for one another when they need a friend. I guess he's kind of the big brother she never had. If nothing else I am grateful for the watchful eye big brother has! Thanks Chris.

I have a bit of work to do on the scrapbooking classes front. Not sure if the timing is great with Christmas coming up and all, but then again maybe even through the school holidays it could be something interesting to pursue. Anyway we'll take it day by day and see how the interest goes. I'm really looking forward to it though. Just another dimension in scrapbooking. There has been lots of interest in the album Kerry has on display so we'll see.

It's pouring with rain here. Far cry from yesterday when it hit 30 degrees. Today is chilly and wintery. Can't complain as we just haven't had the rain we've needed, at home or at work. Trees are drying up and work projects have been halted - not so good for business.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

cheers

Maree