A Bit of Halloween

Well, we have had an interesting week…..guess what we have?

Yup….ants!  And in the strangest places.  First just the countertops of our master bathroom, black ones, good size.  Then the small sugar ants invaded our kitchen three nights ago and they swarmed my poor dog’s food, and then last night just in the main bathroom on the floor….specific areas, and they only show at night….odd for sure. But I can promise you they are ALL dead now…lol  We washed a lot of floors this week. :)

We live in a modular home and in the almost 6 years we have lived here we have never had an ant problem.  Wayne said he had heard on the news  about the valley having a big problem this year in the valley with ants….well let me tell me, we went and got granules to put outside, sprayed the whole outside perimeter of the house and bought plenty of indoor spray!  I detest ants!!!!!! LOL

Post script:  After all the ants died I washed every floor I sprayed, and my dog isn’t allowed to go outside without one of us with her, we lived in a community with no fences, I was very sure that she was safe! Thanks for all of the tips, I am definitely going to try one or two…or three… lol

Now on to the fun things, I am going to be in Eau Claire most of October, Wayne unfortunately has to stay here.  But I wanted a few of my Halloween things out….

This Black cat and Halloween plaque are from one of my favorite sellers on Ebay, her shop name is Stromboli’s Wagon. Her name is Laura.  She has great items for almost any holiday and does different sizes, she will make custom orders also. 

The flickering candles came from Kohl’s  40% then 30% off, and I had a credit! :)

And I know most of you know where this sweet guy from!

I am getting so excited!  I get to go home, have a real Autumn, meet Tammy from Tammy’s in Love and Deb from Garage Sale Gal and spend a day with them, then spend lots of time with my family….how perfect is that?????  I will be keeping in touch!  :)

 

All for the love of his dog…..

John Unger with Schoep in Lake Superior (Hannah Stonehouse Hudson/StonehousePhoto.com/Facebook)

A photograph of a man wading in Lake Superior with his 19-year-old arthritic dog captured the hearts of millions when it was posted online last month--an outpouring that inspired the dog's owner to launch a foundation to help low-income families care for their aging canines.

John Unger says Schoep's Legacy Foundation has raised more than $25,000 since Unger and his dog, Schoep, were photographed by a friend, who posted the image to Facebook.

Before the photo was taken, Unger and his veterinarian had been considering putting Schoep down.

"Without treatment, John and I were talking about euthanasia at the end of July," Erik Haukass, the vet, told the Daily Mail. But through the unsolicited donations from people who saw the photo, Unger was able to treat Schoep and extend his life.

"Schoep is doing incredible right now," Unger said. 'The therapies that the people have donated--it's like turning back the clock a year and a half."

The foundation was created, Haukass added, when the pair "realized we had received more money than we would reasonably spend on Schoep's care."

"It could help another 30 or 40 Schoeps," Haukass said.

The "Official Fan Page of Schoep and John" has more than 20,000 "likes," and Hudson has been selling prints of the photo to benefit the cause.

"This 19-year-old (Schoep) is being cradled in his father's arms last night in Lake Superior," Hannah Stonehouse Hudson, the photographer, wrote in the Facebook post that sparked the outpouring. "Schoep falls asleep every night when he is carried into the lake. The buoyancy of the water soothes his arthritic bones. Lake Superior is very warm right now, so the temperature of the water is perfect. I was so happy I got to capture this moment for John. By the way, John rescued Schoep as an 8-month-old puppy, and he's been by his side through many adventures."

Because of the public's generosity, Schoep has been getting expensive joint laser treatments to reduce pain and swelling related to arthritis.

"He's walking so much faster," the 49-year-old Unger said. "It's unbelievable."

Article from Yahoo News.

To love an animal like this is a privilege, not a burden….I have never ever seen a more poignant photo of a man and his dog in my entire life….

 

Blogging Buddies

 

I always feel so blessed by the women I have met blogging.  Caring, kind, intuitive women.  It has helped me realize that I am also a creative, caring, kind woman.  Not something I have ever been able to admit.  My counselor says we have work to do on my self image! :)

One of my blogging friends is also one of my best buddies.  Her name is Meri and she has Imagimeri’s blog.  The incredible story about Meri and me is that I have been best friends with her sister Lin since our junior year in high school… Meri was a little stinker that was always running around !  Lin and me went over to Meri’s for a class on paper crafting and she mentioned she could help me Photoshop some vintage photos.  And as they say…the rest is history!  Meri is nothing like her sister which is so amazing to me,  in fact Meri and me have a lot in common…we speak our minds, we love color and vintage anything and she always gets the good stuff at the thrift stores before me when we go shopping! LOL  ( just kidding)   Meri often picks up items for me just because she knows me so well…and I try to do he same for her.  It is a fun friendship! She truly is a blessing in my life.   When we made our witches hats for Viv’s swap Meri made one just for me also! 

 

 

 

Love the bottle in his hand!

The back is just as cute and look……

 

She finished the bottom with wonderful plaid fabric and pretty pretty paper. What an artist she is!  And I am so lucky to call her my friend!This is darn cute!  I just adore it…..I was lucky enough to get TWO great witches hats!

Another kind soul that I have connected with is Renee from My Vintage Mending.  In a post that she had this last week she had found some dog statues thrifting, one of them was an English Pointer.  I asked her if I could buy him from her as my son collects vintage Pointer items.  She said she would just send him….well, he arrived today in this sweet little box and when I opened it this is what I found…

 

Renee had sent goodies!

 

 

A lovely vintage hankie in a cute red bird clip

 

We share a love of vintage ephemera and she sent me a whole stack of these vintage flowershop cards…..I just LOVE them!

 

And last but not least…the pointer….

He is vintage for sure.  And my son will love him!

Thank you Renee so much!  You are such a thoughtful, kind friend!

Just two of the wonderful women I call my friends, I truly hope that the rest of you know who you are!  And Tammy and Deb ( sorry about that, I don’t know where that came from Deb!), I can’t wait until October 10th!

Goodies in the mail

Hi Everyone!

I got two wonderful boxes in the mail Saturday.  One was from Jeannie at http://www.eyecraft.blogspot.com.  Jeannie was my swap partner fro Viv’s Witch Hat Swap!

She made everything by hand, except the candy, and then she decorated it too!  The sucker spins!

All glittery and so cute!

A fun little banner…

This little guy came from a package of plastic pumpkins you get at the Dollar store… is this not creative? 

I just adore all of these ornies!  Next year I will have a Halloween tree for sure!  And the witches hat can be my topper!  Thanks again Jeannie, I had a great time!

Then I opened the next box, I saw Elizabeth’s name and wondered what this could be…….

I was the proud owner of one of Bigsby Dept. Store’s elves! The photos do not due this justice, but I want you to see up close what that little bunny looks like….and by the way Elizabeth makes them herself….

Now to see how tiny it really is…..

And that sweet red gingham box on the bell, so very small….amazing work also!   Thank you E, I have it on my shelf in my craft room already…:)

Two very talented ladies and I just loved opening the boxes! 

Thanks for stopping by……

Fall Banner Swap

 

I wanted to show you the wonderful goodies I received from my swap partner Chris from Perfectly Printed! She has a post today on all of these wonderful items also!

Chris couldn’t decide between paper or fabric and finally went with the fabric, and I am so glad she did, this is just stunning!  My photos do not do it justice.  My camera has been acting up, everything looks faded….I must have hit a button I didn’t mean to hit! lol

A close up so you can see some of the embellishments…

This photo is from Chris, see what I mean about the colors…..

They are really this vibrant!

And the wonderful extras……

Dish towels and socks!

Beautifully wrapped tea cups with a vintage doily and lots of good tea bags! 

The pumpkin matches my banner and the tin one has a small door to put a candle in…..

This shot is from Chris’s blog….my favorite little doo-dad was the vintage salt shaker with the Hershey’s candies!  Now I am on the lookout for a “Pepper” to match!

This was a fun fun swap……thanks Chris for being such a great partner!

Some crafting therapy

 

I am feeling better……

I am seeing some positive changes in me and feeling better so I would like to show you two of the projects that helped me to keep at it….

First was a Halloween Witches' Hat Swap from Viv’s Whimsy.    Viv partnered me with a wonderful lady named Jeannie, and I will have another post to show you what she made me….but this is what I made her….

Meri came over and stayed with me thru the whole project, imagine, I finished it in a day!  This is what we started out with….

Bought three of them at Michael’s just in case…:)

And here are some shots of the finished hat, I have to say I am very proud of my self.  Meri gave me a template to use for cutting the paper for the cone and the brim, it made cutting the papers so easy…..and she also gently guided me to think for myself on what to put on it…you see, that is one of my main issues…if it isn’t perfect I can’t deal with it…..and she helped me past those moments.  And with the gluing, her hands are stronger than mine, we went and purchased some large bottles of Tacky Glue so they aren’t so hard to squeeze, for those of you with arthritic hands, the large bottles are easier, and you can always refill them… so without further ado….Ta-Dah!

Is this not cute?  ( Small pat on the back)…

What a wonderful day this was!  Spending time with a really good friend and confidante and making something that was so fun!

The next item was for Deb from Garage Sale Gal.  She had a Fall Banner Swap….I had my buddy, Chris McKinley as my partner and I almost backed out of the swap….but then decided No! I am doing this….so this is what I made her…. again, I will do another post for the BEAUTIFUL gifts she sent me!

I used Graphics 45 papers from last year, I finally cut into them! ( Joyce you know how hard that is! )

Meri came over again and helped me cut out the shapes with my Cricut and then I used what I had on hand for embellishments. ( Elizabeth, look, I did it! )

The back….

I forgot to take photo of the goodies I sent with these items, so hopefully Jeannie and Chris have photos…lol

It feels good to feel like “myself” again.  Not totally there but I can recognize the person in the mirror now……

I cannot tell you how much all of your prayers and thoughts and emails and phone calls meant!  I feel loved, and that is just as healing as anything!  Weekly appointments with a counselor and the right meds are allowing me to be positive!  And believe me, that is something I am not the best at when it comes to myself….I am sure more than one of you can relate…..have a wonderful week!