Guess What I did Tonight

I haven't laughed this much in a long time! I'm not quite sure if all the silliness was scripted.  It didn't seem like it was, but it definitely was a good show!  I heard hubby laugh more than he had in a long time! Jeff Dunham is one talented guy!  If you need a laugh, you can watch some of his routines on YouTube.

So was my day with the scrapbook buddies yesterday!  Fun and can't wait to see them again! Have a great week everyone!

M-C's Hug Your Friends Crop - February 17th- Riverview, FL

Have I ever mentionned that I have the most awesome friends, here , there and everywhere! I am so happy that I'll be going down to Florida to visit with my son and my some of bestest friends!  It will be a whirlwind, but one of the most exciting events for me is that I will be able to gather my friends for a crop on the 17th!


I was lucky enough to get a free private room at a venue in Riverview, that has all the amenities I might want for such an event! We'll be meeting from 5:50 to 10:30 and since there is a bar and a restaurant, anyone that wants to will be able to buy themselves something to eat and drink and I don't even have to clean up afterwards! We are all set to have a great time! Even friends that can't stay to crop are planing to show up.  How lucky am I! I am so grateful!


I'm pretty sure that I won't get a single scrapbook page done, but I do plan on bringing a camera, photo printer and a couple of premade layouts to add the pictures too!  I have a feeling that it will be one of those evenings that I will treasure forever!


I'm so excited, you have no idea!!

eCraft Electronic Cutting Systems

OK, I know, you're wondering what's up with me today! Nothing for days and now 3 new posts on the same day!  Like I said, things are changing in 2010!

I recently came across this new electronic die cutting machine and I am really excited to get this one!  As you may know I first got the Cricket and sold that and got the Silhouette by QucKutz.  However, I'm not a big fan of it either.  I hate the idea of sticky mats and having to play with the pressure depending on the thickness of the paper and the price and size of the Cricut cartridges are a real turnoff for me.  I did get a Slice and I have gotten most of the cartridges for it!  I actually like the Slice's portability.  However I am again at the mercy of proprietary software.  I can only buy MM Slice cards to use in the Slice. 

All that said, this new cutter, does not use sticky mats, it uses a paper tray and you can use any true font on your computer to create words  either directly by connecting the eCraft via a USB port or by transfering the image to an SD card and popping it into the card slot in the cutter.  It can print using 12 inch by any length paper, using a roll which allows you to print long banners! The eCraft also regulates the pressure needed to cut different medium, paper, cardstock, grunge paper, etc automatically. It also draws and cuts without the machine having to stop as it holds both the cutting blade and the drawing pens simultaneously. It will first draw the image and then cut it out! Watch this video and do let me know what you think!



Truly looks like Craftwell USA has solved a number of the problems of the first generation cutters.  And the colored ones are really cute!  BTW, I hear that they will cost between $199 and $300 and the pre-loaded cards will sell for around $30.  Not too bad...

Coming this week!

I've decided that 2010 is about triumphing over my normal sedentary nature and especially about forming new friendships and cementing existing ones.  In my great wisdom {ô.ô}, I've determined that I needed to step out of my comfort zone to make things happen. So, this week, I've got my friend Charlene joining me Tuesday to scrap and play.  On Wednesday evening I've organized a meetup for local empty nesters and then Friday I'm driving to a weekend scrapbooking retreat at the French Lick Resort Springs Hotel in Indiana.

I'm excited as I get to catch up with one of my longtime on-line friends Sandy who it just happens shares my birthday, though I do believe that she is a couple of years younger! I am truly looking forward to getting there, but I'm not sure what I'll bring with me! I've actually paid for two people, I was hoping that my buddy Janie would be able to come up for a visit, but unfortunately that didn't happen. So, if anyone reading this wants to join me and share my room, your cost is $129.50 plus tax. Package for one includes two nights, Friday night reception, Saturday box lunch, workshops and speakers and 20% discount meal coupons. There will be stores on site, including Archivers. It will be interesting to see how Archivers sets up and what they bring with them. I'll try to take pictures! Now to figure out what to bring!

Scrapbook Buddies - Meetup Kentucky

With the new year comes even more catching up to do! Last Wednesday evening, was the first meeting of the Kentucky based Scrapbook Buddies! My friend Charlene showed up early and brought some treats with her! I had already set up the craftroom and after making sure everything was in order, we went to grab a quick bite. Four other people showed up and it would appear that they had a great time! The room setup worked well and everyone seemed to interact with everyone else!  I can't wait for the next gathering.

My Word for 2010

I need a very strong word for this year because it is going to be a big awesome year where I do new things, meet new people, cement old friendships and triumph over things and emotions that have held me back in the past! So if you haven't guessed yet, my word for 2010 is... drum roll please... TRIUMPH! It is a beautiful word filled with smiles and joy and exuberance! It is a successful word, you triumph, when you've made it, you've achieved it, you've beaten it, whatever "it" is! Now to create a scrapbook page that will do my word justice. Before I forget, the picture is apparently of the Triumph staircase. Really???

Did you know that my scrapbook page with last year's word was on the set of a TV commercial? Yup, so although in hindsight I don't think last year's word, embrace, was at all good for me, it did end up on TV, and I guess that was in itself a triumph of sorts ;)

I am curious about you out there, reading this. Do you have an inspiration word for 2010? If so what is it and what was your word for 2009? Does your word actually have an impact on your life?

Oh and before I forget, have you looked in the right hand column lately to see who is our latest winner???

Billy with Catnip Toy

I've never had a cat that was so into catnip! Watch as Billy discovers his new toy! It sure made me smile!

Making Happy with Billy the Cat

Well we've had Billy about 18 hours and so far he is everything we might have hoped for. One of the things we had worried about was having everything clawed and having to deal with that, but I fell in love at the shelter and I frankly didn't care! Imagine my surprise when I got to the vet and this precious kitty turned out to have been declawed by its previous owner! Just another thing I don't have to worry about! I've only had one cat declawed in my whole life, and it is not something I like to have done!

Billy seems to have been trained as a bed cat. In all my days as a cat owner, I've never been able to sleep with a cat except once, when I was at my friend Daria's in Montreal in 1998. One of her cats decided to spend the night sleeping with me, and I loved it. But no other cat managed to be quiet enough to allow me to sleep with them. That is until Billy last night! First, Billy never jumped on my lap during the afternoon yesterday, but as soon as I layed down in bed, he came up, snuggled my hand and flopped down, using my hand as a pillow. During the night, he managed not to wake me, and once when I did wake up he jumped back up onto the bed, almost as if he'd been waiting for my breathing to change. Again he snuggled against me and making sure he was touching my hand went back to sleep. For some reason, I found sleeping next to this cat, very, very relaxing! I'm a very puzzled and happy cat owner this morning, especially since Billy finally did go and get himself scratched by Rick too.

Meet Billy - Our New Kitty

We missed having a kitty so much that we decided to adopt. At first we thought baby or very young, but then today I went to the local shelter. The minute I started petting Billy, I knew I had to take him home and save him. You see Billy is at least 3 years old and he had been in the shelter for more than a month. Not a good position for a cat to be in when the shelter is the county one and not a no kill. So now, after going to get checked out at the vet, Billy has a new forever home. Have a look at the video of Billy at the vets! Basically Billy and I had been aquainted for 30 minutes when I took that!

Are You Ready?

Just a few days left until Christmas. Are you ready? I am almost and yet, I am never quite! I truly agonize over how to find that special gift for those I give gifts to. I always have majestic, magnificent, overwhelming plans, that start fermenting in my mind for the following Christmas even before the current Christmas comes to pass. Yet every year and more so this year, I don't even get 1/99th done. Something always interferes! I have 5 sweaters started that no one will get this year. One is absolutely gorgeous and was started as a gift for Christmas 2008. With the move and the shoulder injury this year, I haven't even been able to put my hands on it to finish it. Maybe next year.

I suppose that if I finished one before starting the other I might achieve more, but there is always a good reason for putting one down and starting the next, honest! Three of the five will have to be remade, bigger or abandonned, or finished and gifted to some deserving family in need. There is one that is done and I think I've bought 4 sets of buttons for it and I always manage to lose them. It's the weirdest thing! I bought new wonderful buttons just this week at JoAnn's, and they seem to have flown away! They were butterflies, you see! If they fly your way, will you catch them and send them back!

So much work and stress for such a very few minutes of gifting. But I just love seeing if I've hit the bulls eye. I'll spend days and weeks on a gift for the few moments of watching someone get it. With luck, their reaction gives me a hint that it is a hit and will be used or looked at and treasured at least for a while!

But, it's time to get off the computer. There is more work to do! So I'll leave you with a Christmas wish. May all your efforts to make Christmas special, be cherished by those around you. And may their efforts to warm your heart, succeed!

Getting Crafty - Scrapbook Buddies rise again

Many of you reading this are/were part of my Scrapbook Buddies in Florida and some I hope are new members of the group here in the tri-state area (Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio). As people say, life goes on and it is time for me to get my life rolling again. I have been scrapbooking over the last few months, but I haven't gotten my Buddies together!

I intend to do just that starting with a meetup at my house on January 6th. I hope that I can get quite a few new friends to come out here and enjoy!

Meanwhile, I did make a couple of LO's about Christmas 2007 and 2008, but I can't show them to you as they are part of my Christmas presents. I must admit that I am a year late giving the 2007 layout, but I'm sure they will be glad to add it to the Christmas albums I gave them a few years back!

As for my heritage book, I unfortunately did not manage to get it completed in time to send to be printed in time for them to get to people for Christmas, so I've given myself a break on that until the new year! I did get more pictures from my other cousin Irene who lives just outside Quebec City, thanks Irene, which will allow me to make sure that both she and her sister, who I grew up with are included. I discovered, as I was putting everything in final form, that I was still missing information without which it made no sense to go to press. For example, the picture above is of my great-grandparents 25th wedding anniversary. I got this picture from my cousin in Belgium, Marie-Jeanne. I've identified just about everyone, my grandmother is the one playing the violin in the middle of the picture, but the two mandolin players on either end of the picture. I know that one is M-J's grandmother Rosalie, but which one (I'm guessing the one in the lighter dress on the right) but who is the other lady? I also seem to be missing the name of one of my grandmother's nine siblings. So is that the mystery lady? I have learned other interesting things woking on this book and even things that were right in front of me for years, but that only clicked after the 20th time looking at them! That is one of the things that makes working on heritage books totally facinating! There are layers and layers of things you get to learn about your family. Suddenly stories that you were told click with something else that you uncover. It is amazing some of the things I've learned about that are different from what I'd always believed! There may even be some discoveries that you wonder if you should share or not!

So if, like me and my blog winner for November, Sharon you are working on a heritage album, be prepared to learn new and wonderful things about your family!

Good Bye Nuku, I miss you

For those of you who are pet lovers you will understand my grief at having to say goodbye to my cat Nuku yesterday. Nuku was with me for fourteen and a half years. She was born in Ottawa, Canada and along with her companion Radar who we had for 16 years and lost earlier this year, she moved with me to the US in 1998. We took her with us from Houston, where her plane from Canada landed, to Gulfport, MS where my in-laws lived to St Petersburg, FL where Rick got his first teaching job. We then moved her from the an apartment to a home and two years later to what we thought was our forever home in Parrish. Just when she thought she could unpack her kitty bags, we moved her to North Little Rock, AR and two years later to Riverview, FL. Through all those years she put up with her shifty vagabond owners, no doubt wondering when we would finally get a clue and just enjoy life as she did!

She seemed to still be doing OK when we moved her again this past June up here to Kentucky. This time she made the move alone, without her lifelong companion, Radar. But about three months ago, things started going from bad to worse and over the last few weeks she could no longer spend all those great hours cleaning and primping herself. We kept her with us until my son could come for Thanksgiving and say goodbye and yesterday, it was our turn to say a final goodbye and let her go. She is now reunited with Radar and I know it was the right thing to do, for her. But it is weird being without her. The house is missing a heartbeat tonight... I have no pet for the 1st time in more than 30 years!

Christmas Wreath

I'm not sure why I decided that making Christmas wreaths was something that I needed to do this year, except that I think my house looks like a wreath kind of house while my former homes didn't quite have that "traditional" look. I haven't really put up other decorations, yet, but i did put up one of the wreaths I made on my front door. This wreath is not electrified while the other 3 have white lights and this one reminds me of years gone by, with its pretty Noel in the center. I thought I would share it with you as I wish you well during the pre-holiday craziness!

God's Icing Sugar

I looked out the window this morning and it really looked like God's pastry chef had sprinkled icing sugar. So pretty! It didn't last long, as I write this there are only a few small patches left. Then again this isn't the Quebec City of my youth where the snow fell and stayed as early as the beginning of October and didn't disappear again until late March if then!

This is what March 29th looked like in Quebec City last year! (Global warming???) Click on the image to see a larger sized picture and more of the same, from my beautiful birth place.