My husband died in April.

What can I say? I'm lost? I'm broken? So many feelings and so much sorrow.

How to keep busy...

My biggest problem is that I don't know what to do with myself. I have spent the last year keeping myself busy on the computer and reading while my arm healed, re-operated on and healed again.

Nice

Chuck a rock...

What a fun day... so far. It's warm and sunny, with just a touch of a breeze. And that means I can't go outside... the maple, pear and redbud trees are blooming. Pollen alergies!

Oh! And a warning. Don't let your thoughts drift in church: Today our new minister was talking about his visit to the holy lands and said he was standing on a hill overlooking Jerusalem, so close he could have "chuck a rock" to the temple. I got so tickled I about chocked! All I could think of was Ernest T.

Ray gave me a dirty look to make me quit laughing, but LAST WEEK... when the preacher started his closing prayer, he started, "Oh God!" and Ray thought of the prayer for the poor farmer in the beginning of "Paint your Wagon."

It's a New Day!

It's a new year and lots of things have happened. Guess I've started a new me. I'm not sure how I will turn out by the end of this year, but I know I will not be the same.

I left the scrapbooking world. I just didn't have that many pictures to scrap, and all the kits were beginning to seem the same. I thought about selling kits, but I think that would just be adding to the problem of lack of creativity.

I've retired from my job as the secretary of our church. I had been frustrated for about as long as Bert was our preacher. He didn't even try to be a pastor. I was tired of trying to keep the church on track with a immense lack of communication and resentment. I was beginning to hate me and my life. Then Bert resigned (hooray!) but my feelings of resentment did not seem to improve that much, so it was time for a change. I had lost my religion and beginning to dread going to work or church.

I made some rules with my retirement. First, I will be a better partner to my husband. He loves me to do things with him, so I have decided to work on ways we can be together more often. Maybe go stay on the shanty a few days when he is there. Also, I try not to let a day go by without doing something constructive (besides Mafia Wars on Facebook).

I can't say there has been much improvement yet. I've spent lots of time just sitting around - playing on the computer or cutting up material for quilts. I took a photography class, (which I loved), and bought some more equipment that I think I will really use. I haven't cooked much lately, I think mostly because I don't want to go shopping. I just have to decide what I want to do and then WORK at.

Happy New Year's Eve

We had a lovely sunset today. I thought it was a lovely ending to a year.
I tried to take a photo of it, but the trees kept getting in the way. I scraped it about seven times, never getting the look I wanted.

Poor Lulu
Our little cat was operated on four times this last month, then the vet said she had a rapidly growing cancer on her head. So we had her put to sleep on Dec 27th. The photo below shows her after an operation sleeping with Shebie and I.
Lulu was the daughter of an outside cat. We tried to give her away several times, but she wouldn't go away as a kitten. Very skiddish and needy.

Christmas is almost here!

Hubby took this photo of me & the cats taking a 'cat' nap yesterday afternoon. With everything that has to get done before Christmas eve... I really thought about staying in bed!

December?

When did that happen? I've been busy with so many urgent and emergency situations that I have barely looked online. I think maybe things will calm down soon. I put in my resignation at work, and looking forward to some REAL retirement time.
I went to the church's children Christmas play Wednesday. I love seeing the wiseman taking baby Jesus out and banging him on the floor. And Mary pulling her dress up over her head. Well.. you get the idea. I did make a layout using a tree template by Christie Lemmon.
Hope to make a few more... We'll see!

Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Dried Fruit

I was cleaning out the pantry and found 6 bags of dried fruit that hubby had horded away. He loves dried fruit, but buys these gigantic bags, then gets tired of it and stuffs it on the back of a shelf!

I made this recipe up to use some of that fruit...

Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Dried Fruit

Ingredients

Olive Oil

4 (6-ounce) boneless center-cut pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup flour

Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

1 sliced shallots

1 tbsp garlic/ginger mix

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup beef broth

1 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 cup mixed dried fruit: Apricots, Raisins, Cherries, Blueberries, Crazins (whatever) soaked in chicken broth 1/2 hour.

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly coat pan with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides of pork with salt and pepper and dredge in flower. Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove from pan, and put in warm oven (350)

Add shallots & garlic/ginger mix to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broths and fruit, then simmer till sauce is thick. Add wine and continue cooking till sauce coats spoon. Return pork to pan, and cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.

4 servings

aCk! I've been tagged!

I haven't blogged in TWO months... but now I have been tagged by enableem. And there are RULES! Here's what I have to do and what you have to do if I tag you!!

Rules:

1.) Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2.) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3.) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4.) Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Seven facts... hmmmm.
I love gardening. But I hate heat and sunshine! And bugs! I get things planted in the spring and then watch them from the windows.
I don't like talking on the phone. And my husband calls me when he's on the road just to pass HIS time.
I can pick up things with my toes. Saves on leaning over too much. (And drives hubby crazy because he can't do it.)
My bathtub is six feet long.
I love wooden boxes and cigar boxes. I have lots of them, and most of them are empty. And I passed that love on to my daughter.
I love to read. I read two to four books a week, mostly mysteries and thrillers. If the book is good, I can finish it in a day. And I passed that one on to my daughter, too. She reads MORE than I do.
My cat will play fetch. But only when SHE wants to.

There! Even more than you ever wanted to know!

Oriana Vianey
ConnieB
Sausan Scraps
Stampin with Alexa
mmbstaley
AngelaUK
ScrapMel's Ramblings

My son's cat

My son sent me this photo of his lazy cat... and I could tell what she was thinking... I liked the way this turned out. and got to use 2 of my favorite designers, Dawn Inskip & Weeds & Wildflowers.

Such a funny email!

I got this email from a friend, and just fell in love with this photo. Poor baby elephant fell off his stand. *giggle* So I just had to scrap it to keep!

Fun layout

I was doing a sponsor kit for RakScraps... and hunting through my hoard of photos to pick one, when I came across this photo of Gizmo. Gizmo had been an outside cat until Denise decided to take her. We were getting her used to the house, when she found the television!
We got such a laugh out of Gizmo trying to find the dog in the television. Of course, that is a photo of our German Shepherd, Zac, but that is much more fun than the shot of Law & Order.

Layout of the Week

HOORAY! I got layout of the week from Digital-scrapbooking.org. I found this old photo of one of hubby's aunts, and scrapped it! Isn't she beautiful? Looking at her dress, Hubby and I think she must have been very well off.

I made this layout from Lynn Griffin's Vintage Bliss kit from Art and Scraps. I tried all sorts of embellishments, but ended up using swirls from Cari Lopez's Cool and Grunge and a second background from the kit.

I am very lucky to have so many old family photos. I love genealogy and often find more photos from other relatives. I have not been able to track this aunt down, other than knowing which family she belonged to.

Look at THIS!

Have you seen this new action by Cholie Watkins? Beautiful ribbon roses! I do a bit of ribbon embroidery and I just fell in love with this! I think it is so old-fashioned and so dressy.
Check it out here!

Amazing Grace

This is beautiful. Wonder if it is from the movie?

Music Video:
Amazing Grace by (Chris Tomlin)

Music Video Code by Video Code Zone

100 Years

I love this song. I just downloaded it for my ringtone. Nice we can do these things now.

uggg... maybe I'll die!

I had a little surgery Wednesday. I had to look to see exactly what they did to me, besides rotter-router my sinuses. Shame when you let a doctor operate on you and not even sure exactly what he is doing!

The goal of the surgery is to correct any structural problems within the nose and sinuses as well as to eliminate blockage by removing thickened tissue creating wider drainage channels.

Exactly like I thought! Rotter-router!

Wednesday I thought I'd die... but Thursday I was hoping to die... and then Friday... I was afraid I wouldn't die. But today... I feel bad but not like killing myself!

My daughter's Wedding Dress

I was making a little brag book for my daughter's wedding. She got married last month at the justice of the peace. I was mad, because I wanted the whole big shindig! So... I made a photo of her in a wedding dress.

I like it! LOL!

I needed the perfect frame for this... so I asked Dawn Inskip for a white-lacy frame. She made the frame, and an entire kit! Beautiful.
All elements & papers are from her kits, Heritage & Love you Lots.

I'll be posting these sometime next week.