Big Sale - New Kit Coming Tomorrow

April 30, 2009

Sad to say, but we've come to the end of April. It is quietly slipping away to make room for May. The weather has been up and down - hot to cool to hot to cool. Alas, pretty soon the Spring temperatures will be replaced by hot, hot and hotter.

This is also bringing out all the fuzzy, buzzing creatures. This morning, I was driven out of my computer room by one such tiny little beast. A big fat bumblebee. Tootsie and I left the room and let the little critter wear itself out and finally crawl into whatever (have not a clue where). After 30 minutes of not hearing it anymore, it seemed safe to come back into the room.

Snowy, I've taken another look at the "nuts" photo, and I think you are right. They do look like seed pods. Now if I could get my hands on one of them, I might know a bit more about it. This is a rather tall tree. Of course, when you're 5'1", everything around you looks very tall.

Take notice, I have changed the slideshow to reflect the new May Daily Download kit, Florence. The theme and colors for this beautiful kit were inspired by my dear friend, Kyra, who by the way has a very interesting story and another gorgeous freebie kit on her blog. So have a treat, and go visit with her. http://smiekeltje.blogspot.com/.

I was also tagged by my friend Kyra, but this will have to wait until tomorrow so that I have time to do it justice. I also have to find ten other folks to tag - not an easy task here. Snow Raven has just sent me the ad for tomorrow's sale, so I will post it now and take my leave for today.

The weather outside is just exquisite this afternoon, so y'all need to get out there and enjoy it. Have a good one.

Hugs, Edna B.

Strange Nuts

April 29, 2009

Yesterday I took the day off thinking that maybe Blogger would be nicer to me after a rest. So here's hoping it worked. I even did some looking up about how to fix the problem, but not being fully understanding of geek talk, a lot of it did not make an impact on my brain. So, we'll just do the best we can here.

I have been working on some new collab kits with Snow Raven. These will be for children, and are adorable. As soon as there is a preview ready, I will post it here. So you see, I have been very busy between re-learning about html and designing kits. There will also be a freebie for you this week.

Meanwhile, keep an eye for a great sale at Magickal Scraps Shop starting in two days. This will also be my opening day, and we will free goodies for you. So don't forget - mark your calendar - May 1

A few months ago, I showed you a photo of my magestic tree with purple flowers on it. Well, when the flowers died off, in their place grew these weird nuts. Anybdy know what they are? Are they edible? If so, why haven't the squirrels eaten them. Strange

Now I am off to see what kind of trouble I can get in today. Y'all have a fantastic day. (p.s. Blogger is still acting crazy. I can see that is going to take a while.)

Hugs, Edna B.

Go Red Sox !!!!!!!

April 27, 2009

We are quickly running out of this gorgeous month of April. Even the rain was good, a lot of the reservoirs were down quite a bit. I even finally got a few beautiful blooms in my little garden. I don't know why I call it a garden. It's a patch where I planted some bulbs, and is a bit overgrown, but I love it because it's mine, and right now it' ORANGE! Yup! Orange tulips, and one yellow one. I'll post a picture taken today at the end of this post.

I must have gotten off on the wrong foot with Blogger because they are always messing up my placements on my page, and I don't notice this on anyone else's blog. Other folks get to put pictures within the post, I have to put mine at the bottom. I wonder why that is? I really wish that Blogger would put out a visual manual for mentally inhibited folks like me.

In four days, my brand new, very first digi shoppe will open at Magickal Scraps. I have been working on this for so long, and now it's finally becoming a reality. Of course, there will be a sale, and freebies. I'll be putting up more about this in the next couple of days.

Getting back to the Green stuff - do all of you recycle? That's one of the nice thing about my dwarfs. I insist on recycling all the trash and everything else, and they all pitch in and do their part too. Since we started this, we have very little actual trash, and tons of recycle stuff. Amazing, and it's good for the town too, because the money from the recycle stuff comes back to the town. A win-win situation.

I've been watching my Red Sox play Cleveland tonight. Top of the ninth inning, score 0-0. A very close and exciting game. So what do you think? Will this go into extra innings or what? YEAH!!!! YEAH!!!! YEAH!!!! A three run homer for my fabulous Red Sox!!!!!!!!! And only one out!!

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paragrph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph HEAR THAT BLOGGER?

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Am I excited? Yes, Yes. Do I wish I were there at the game? Yes, Yes. I've only been to one Red Sox game in my whole life, and what a great game it was. At the bottom of the 7th inning we were losing so badly, half the people in the stands had already left. BUT!! In the bottom of the ninth inning, with two outs, the Red Sox rallied up and won the game. I was so glad that I was there to see it. Win or lose, we have a fantastic team.

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paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph paragraph ANOTHER ONE BLOGGER

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Oh nooooooooo! The Indians just got a run. This can't be. We need two more outs to end the game, definitely not a good time for Cleveland to rally up. I can't stand it! Yes!! Two outs !! Just one more to go!

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ANOTHER PARAGRAPH BLOGGER

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My fingernails are getting oh so short. And it's 2 balls, 1 strike -- AND A HUGE POP UP !!!!!! RED SOX WIN AGAIN !!!! I can sleep good tonight now.

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BLOGGER CAN YOU HEAR ME?

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I need to find out either what I am doing wrong that Blogger does not like, or if there is another place to make blogs. I have re-typed this so many times, and they keep changing all my paragraphs. That' it, I'm off now. Play a little with Tootsie, and fool around on my PC. Y'all have a magnificent night.

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I give up
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Hugs, Edna B.

Another Simply Gorgeous Day

April 26, 2009

Thanks to be, another gorgeous day outside. This morning as I was leaving work, I saw a huge bird in a tree across the street, and tried to get a couple pictures. It was a great big brown hawk, and of course, it wasn't in the mood to be posing for me. The best I could come up with, was a rather pleasant silhouette.

This morning, my Tootsie is spooked about something outside our windows. She was growling and barking at it for a while. Now she is just sitting in the living room, looking up at the windows, waiting for whatever it is to show it's face. Poor little thing, I haven't a clue what it is out there that's bothering her. Maybe a ghost?

Maybe she'll feel better after a nap, which is where we will be heading shortly. Need to get a bit of sleep - tonight's another work night. Hopefully the deer will be out romping in the field across the street from work tonight. I really enjoy watching them when they are being playful.

An awful thought, but what will we do when they are gone? When man has finished using up all the wooded land and chased out or killed off all of these beautiful creatures? Hopefully, enough of today's children will be care enough to turn things around - to undo the damage their parents and grandparents did to the land.

Philosophically speaking (Snowy, that's a great $20 word for you), oh my, now I've gone and lost my train of thought. I just had to slip in that word thing, and it messed up my thought process). Another wonderful part of the "Golden" years - very fragile thought processes. Gosh, everything about me is becoming "fragile." Oh well, enough for today. We are going in for our nap, and y'all need to get outside and have a fantastic day.

Hugs, Edna B.

It's A "Get Out And Do Something" Day

April 25, 2009

I took a break last night. Me and the little one actually turned in a little early. I must have needed it, because I fell right to sleep shortly after I closed my eyes. I read somewhere that the older you get, the less sleep you required. I wonder who they were talking about?

Today is a "get out in the yard and do something" day. It is absolutely gorgeous out there. Not too hot, balmy breeze, just gorgeous. I even have some tulips finally blooming in my little garden. Tootsie and I went out to take in a bit of fresh air and harass Uncle Moo a bit.

I'm waiting for a contractor to arrive to discuss the roof repairs and replacement windows that I thought he was going to be doing a couple of weeks ago. Must be me, when they tell me a couple of weeks, I think "two weeks." However, they think "a month or so or whenever I get to it."

The repairs and maintenance are never ending when you have a house, but I am very grateful to be able to be in this situation of having a house. So I'm not really complaining, just grumbling a bit.

My friend Mary Ann in Wisconsin sent me a beautiful photo that she took of a Cedar Waxwing that visits her house to eat the berries off her tree. I will share that photo with you today, so you can see how fantastic her work is. She also received an offer to display a lot of her work in a public building - will share more of this when it's a done deal. Don't want to jinx it for her.

That's it for today. Hope to see that contractor soon. Y'all have a fantastic day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Photography by Mary ann Roesler

Found My Blue Bird

April 23, 2009

Need to reply to Snowy about the ""roomy and airy" building. I hope cable internet isn't at the top of your "must have" list. Yes, they have internet out there in the cornfields, but it's probably a tad bit slower than the turtles travel. Remember "dial-up"? That's one of the newer inventions to hit the cornfields. But still, it is cheap.

To Kaline (from Tootsie) - Any tips for me on how to get her to see things my way? She's a stubborn old coot, my mom. The more I ignore my dogfood, the more she gives it to me. What's a girl supposed to do to get decent food these days? I guess I just have to be thankful that she still tapes up my ball every week.

Snowy gave us some great Green Tips: ** Buy refills, cuts down on the number of bottles going into landfill. ** Use cloth or disposable shopping bags (usually available for $1 at local stores). These are washable, and biodegradable too, I think. ** For your babies, use cloth diapers. The disposable diapers take ten years to degrade. ** For your garden, plant an onion next to other plants - greenflies, snails and other pests don't like the smell of onion and will stay out. ** Plant lemon balm to help keep flies and mosquitoes away.

** AND MOST IMPORTANT -- cut open the loops on the plastic ring fasteners which come on packs of soda and water (and other things). Animals get their heads stuck in these rings, and are horribly injured or killed by these contraptions.

I went searching for my blue bird pictures and will post one for you today. I put a close-up insert into the original photo. This was taken from the car window as we drove through this beautiful park. I thought I saw a flash of blue so I just kept shooting pictures, hoping that there would be a good one in the bunch.

Moo is trying his hand at chatting on MSN. Surprise, surprise, he had to type - camera not on today. It's good to get back to basics and practice your typing too. having a video cam and sound puts a whole new spin on messenger chatting.

My little girl just came in sit with me. She looks quite satisfied, considering she had a share of the bacon and scrambled eggs that Moo and Erik cooked for our brunch today. Did I tell you my little girl was spoiled?

I have to get back to my laundry now. The dryer should be stopping right about now, and I don't like my clothes to wrinkle. Tonight is a work night - long shift, 20 hours. So I'll pack up my laptop and maybe get some new stuff done on it tonight. Did I mention that Wayne was able to successfully install the new hard drive in the laptop, and now it has lots and lots of room.

Enjoy the blue bird, and y'all have a great day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Go Green, Your Way

April 22, 2009

On the front page of the newspaper today, there is a big picture of the face of the "Craig's List" killer. My heart actually hurts. To look at this face, you think, this is what I want my son to be like, handsome, smiling, likable, friendly, smart. How can we be so wrong? How does a child grow up to be so evil? Was it something that we as parents caused or could have prevented? Will we ever know?

Inside the newspaper, is our weekly smaller paper which gives tips and tricks for better living, among other things. Today my favorite article is "Go Green, Your Way." Have you started going green yet? What are you waiting for? It's good for Mother Earth, it's good for nature, and it's good for us.

I will share some tips with you. FREE: For Spring cleaning, wipe up with old t-shirts and dishcloths instead of buying sponges or using paper products that will just end up in a landfill. CHEAP: Make your own cleaning products with baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil (recipes can be found at spryliving.com/green). ECO-INVESTMENT: Purchase cleaning products made with toxin-free and biodegradable ingredients.

Others include: ** Unplug electronics when they're not in use to save "phantom energy" that can add up to 5% to your electricity bill each year. ** Switch to cold water for every load to make a huge impact. About 90 % of the energy required to wash clothing is used to heat the water. ** Drive the speed limit to save gas - and 13 to 42 cents per gallon.

If you have any other green suggestions, please pass them along and I'll put them here to share with everyone. Changing over to green is fairly painless and so good for all of us. We only have one earth, and we all need to pull together to save her.

Before I call it a day, I have to share one other thing with you. I just looked down at my keyboard, and over on the bottom right corner it says : "Warning --- To reduce risk of serious injury, read Safety & Comfort Guide provided with product." Okay - now I'm not a stupid person, but how am I going to seriously injure myself with this keyboard? Unless I pick it up and bash myself over the head with it, I'm really at a loss here. Can anyone help me here?

Maybe one of my dwarfs knows? Well, anyway, y'all have a grand day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Rain, Rain, And A Little Bit More Rain

April 21, 2009

Was the rain and wind very ferocious where you are during the night? We had a bit here, but I fell asleep and must have missed the worst of it. the weatherman said it would be quite miserable outside during the night, and rainy off and on until sometime Thursday. He said we could get an inch of rain during that time. Imagine that? An inch of rain spread out over two or three days? The man must not be using all of his brain burners.

With this yucky weather, I don't seem to be getting up any energy. I'm a sunshine girl. Need the sun and the flowers, birds chirping and warm breezes to get into an energetic work mode. right now, I think I'd like to just go back to back and watch TV or read a book, but I'm not going to because I don't like wasting my day totally. Maybe I'll do some laundry, there's always some lurking in the laundry bucket.

I did it again --I type a whole page and hit a wrong button. Poof!!! Everything disappeared. So, because I don't want to re-type the whole thing, I will just stop here. Tomorrow will be much better, I'm sure.

I do have a freebie for you - a QP made from Snow Raven's new Re-do of "Bonnie Scotland." I used "Pt. 4 - Natures Beauty" and a speck from "Pt. 1 - Braveheart." Visit Snow Raven's blog to view the whole kit and download it free. Imagine! This great big, beautiful kit, and it's free. http://silversnowyraven.blogspot.com/.

I'm off now to play with my little kid here. Y'all have a great night.

Hugs, Edna B.

Here is your download link for "Bonnie Scotland QP - 02"

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Cable Internet For The Cornfields?

April 20, 2009

You ladies are such fun. If anyone is interested, the interior of yonder building is "airy and roomy" to say the least. Lots of potential. lol. If my Dad were still alive, he would have this looking like a castle in no time at all. That was his hobby - working with wood. He could fix most anything, and make most anything ugly look really beautiful. His talent was endless.

I have been a busy bee today, working on the PC. How in the world did we ever get along without the computer? I never used to have anything to do on it except maybe play a few games, and now I have so-o-o much, that it's hard to get away from it. If it shuts down for a day or two, I have withdrawal. You too?

Crooknees, did you get a new PC yet? I know how frustrating it is to try to keep an ailing computer up and running. Do you have high speed internet? There is no such thing out in Audrey's cornfield. Just clunky dial up. Even the turtles on TV have DSL. I thought I saw on TV that the government was supposed to be feeding monies in the cable companies to get high speed internet into the rural areas. Won't that be nice if it really happens?

My little girl is not having a great day today. She doesn't seem to want to eat very much of her food. She has these days quite a bit now. It's hard to figure out what to feed her that she might like. Other than roast chicken and roast beef, of course. I'm not about to buy this for her everyday.

I have another birdie picture to share before I leave you today. This one was taken through the kitchen window, and it's one of my favorite birds - the blue jay. I know he can be pesky, but he's just beautiful. Enjoy, and y'all have a fantastic night.

Hugs, Edna B.

A Lazy Day

April 19, 2009

Well, I finally decided, my grand opening in the shop at Magickal Scraps will be on May 1st. I tried for today, but the stress of trying to learn everything in such a small time frame was a bit much for my poor fried brain. So I gave myself a little more time, us older gals move slower than the young 'uns.

As for yesterday's big black bird, the closest I can find is that it is a raven. That's cool, because I haven't really seen many of them for quite a few years. Come to think of it, I haven't seen very many bluebirds either. Just 3 or 4 times in the last 20 years or so. I will have to dig out the last photo I got of a bluebird to share with you sometime this week.

Today, I want to do a bit of work on the PC, an spend some time with my little girl. The best part of going to work, or out to do errands, is the welcome that I get from Tootsie when I get home. She gets so excited, she dances around in circles, hops up and down, and gives me kisses. it was one very lucky day when this little girl came into my life.

I keep thinking that today is Monday because I don't have to work tonight. Gosh! Don't want to rush my Sunday away and lose a whole day. Heavens knows, I need all the days I can get. Maybe I will take a stroll around the yard today and enjoy the beautiful sunshine. It's almost time to put the tomato plants in. Maybe I should get my fanny in gear and clean out some of my little garden this week. We'll see. Maybe I will just be lazy today. Sounds good.

Today's photo for sharing was taken by Miss Audrey. For those of you looking for a really cheap house - you know a handyman's special - here's just the thing. Needs a bit of work before winter because it has a few drafts, but nothing too difficult. The best part is that is way out in the country, with lots of land and few neighbors to bother you. Enjoy. Y'all have a great day.

Hugs, Edna B.

A Raven Come To Visit?

April 18, 2009

Ah, I think all that sleep last night did me some good. Tootsie and I had turned in rather early. We watched a program that I had taped on DVR, had our snack, and turned out the lights. Tootsie didn't even wake me up in the middle of the night for a potty trip. She slept right through too.

Yesterday, at work, I was looking out the kitchen window, and way up in the trees there sat a huge black bird, mostly hidden by the branches. I took a few pictures, and then went outside to see if I could get a better shot. The bird saw my movements, and flew off to another tree further away. Wow, what a wing spread!! This was a huge bird. I will post a photo, even though it is not very clear or close. (You can only do much through a window with shaky hands). Let me know what you think.

Is this maybe a Raven? Looks like one to me, but will have to check it out in the bird book at work. Do you suppose this maybe an omen? I will have to ponder on this a bit more. In any case, it was just a beautiful bird, and I would love to have been able to see it up close. I had to use a long range zoom to get these shots.

Of course, that gives me other ideas. I wonder what I could do if I had a longer zoom. Maybe a 400 mm or a 500 mm? Oh my, can't you just imagine how close you could get with one of these? Alas, they are both probably miles and miles out of my budget. But a girl can dream, can't she?

Today, I have to try once again to learn how to upload stuff to the shop store. Last night, I got so flustered trying to do this, that I gave myself an Excedrin 552 headache. (I'm just guessing at the number, they must be in the 500's by now with their headache causes!) That's when I decided to just shut down the PC, and turn in early.

I just got a pretty nice phone call from a friend that I work with. It seems she needs a night off, and in return, she will work for me tomorrow night. Yippee!! A Sunday night off once in a while is a real treat. Of course, that also means I will have a rather long shift coming up for me later in the week. Her 12 hours going straight into my 8 hours. But that's okay. This is what we do, she and I. We try to fill in for each other as much as possible.

So now I'm off to see what kind of installation woes await me today. I am stubborn, and will lick them yet. Y'all have a great day.

Hugs, Edna B.

Grand News To Share

April 17, 2009

Today, I can finally share my good news with all of you. For quite a while now, I have been working towards my goal of getting established at the Magickal Scraps shop. And it's finally happening. With a little luck and lots of help from Snow Raven, I might just make it in time for a Sunday, April 19th grand opening. I will have more on that later. Meanwhile, don't be disappointed if it takes an extra week to accomplish this.

I will still be making freebies for you. It's just time for me to branch out and grow a little. This afternoon, I started working on another new kit. I'm sort of slow, though, because I sidetrack myself. I make a new paper, then I start to make a design for it, and next thing you know - I'm off on a tangent making new elements. Eventually I work my way back to the paper. Even then, by now I probably have to change the color of the original paper because of the new elements. It's just a vicious circle -- but I like it.

Yesterday, I managed to finish up some more challenges, and today I'll share one of them. This is my "L" challenge. The "L" is for Love and Lick. Enjoy. Tootsie and I will be turning in early tonight because I think I have finally overtaxed my brain. Imagine that! Y'all have a wonderful night.

Hugs, Edna B.

Learning And Research Can Be Fun

April 16, 2009

Does anybody out here like learning and research as much as I do? Ever since I was very young, I have had a yen for learning. Books and places like libraries have been my best friends for many years. Books and learning can take you most anywhere. Even if you cannot afford to physically travel to some beautiful faraway place, a book and your imagination will take you there.

To me, school has always been a place of enjoyment. Crazy? Not really. Not only was it a place for socializing, but it expanded the growth of my mind. Any chance I ever got to go to school or college, or even just lectures, I hopped right to it.

Today, as I look back, my whole life has been one huge learning experience, and it hasn't stopped yet. Poor Snow Raven must be walking around in a sleepy fog today. She spent most of the night trying to talk me through another big learning experience. Bless her, she is so patient.

When the book series "------- For Dummies" came out, they forgot me. I got lost in the first one I bought. Had to go out and buy another book series "Windows (or whatever) SIMPLIFIED" because the whole book is visual. That's right -- they tell you what to do, then show you a picture with a red box around the item you need to work with, and lots of little arrows to show you where to go next.

These books were lifesavers for me when it came to learning how to use a computer. When I got my very first computer, I knew absolutely nothing about it. Company would come, and I would proudly show off my new toy. I would turn it "ON" and then I would turn it "OFF." After a couple of months, I realized that I had just spent $2000 and didn't even know what to do with it. (prices have changed drastically since then) This is when I got introduced to these marvelous SIMPLIFIED books.

Now I are much smarter. Sometimes I even get really brave and try something new or hit a new button or key or something. Golly! Everyday there is something new for me to learn.

So now, I really must get busy and finish up my challenges - I know, I know, I keep saying that, but life gets in my way and I stray easily from my day to day projects. I did manage to finish up one layout for the Journaling challenge at Magickal Scraps. We had to make a layout about something interesting we have been doing for the past month. Well, I did quite a it of research on my family history - which I will get into another day - and chose to make my layout about this. The kit I used is Snow Raven's "Bonnie Scotland" which, I believe, you can purchase at both the shop at Magickal Scraps and the shop at Scraphead. Both links should be listed over to the right.

Y'all have a great day, and enjoy my new layout.

Hugs, Edna B.

Murphy's Law Is At It Again

April 15, 2009

Today's your last chance to get your taxes in on time. Hurry, hurry! It's such a load off your mind once they are finished and in the mail or e-mail.

Bad news today - they sent the wrong hard drive for my laptop. So what else is new? Murphy's Law at work here. Wayne sent them an email, and now we have to wait for them to get back to us. I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for their answer. If I do, I won't need the hard drive at all. lol.

Seems like I have been busy all day, but I don't see lots of stuff achieved around me. Hows come basillio? I did laundry, they don't like me wearing dirty, wrinkled clothes to work. I looked up travel itineraries to help find the best one for my son for when he comes up here. I played on the computer a bit, I scolded Tootsie for piddling on the carpet - also cleaned same carpet. I even gathered up some materials to make some more kits and things. Found the time to chat a bit on MSN, and send a few emails. That's what I did - oh, and I cooked supper so I won't have to do it later.

Maybe I did get a few things accomplished. Meanwhile the mailman brought me some more goodies - lots of pictures from Audrey, and a copy of the magazine my son-in-law designed and put together for the United Taxidermist Association. Mac, you did a great job on the magazine, well done. If any of you is interested in this association, let me know and I will publish the numbers you need to get in touch with them.

Today, I think I'll share a couple of pictures that Audrey sent - one that shows where she lives a way out there in the boonies, and another of her newest friend. What can I say? It gets lonely out there in the middle of a cornfield - not too many neighbors.

I think I've ignored Tootsie long enough - can't have her piddling on any more carpeting. Time for me to go and get ready for my company. Daughter-in-law comes for supper and a visit on Wednesday evenings. Y'all have a great night.

Hugs, Edna B.

Audrey's Home

Audrey's New Friend

We Miss You Moo

April 14, 2009

One more day folks, to file your taxes. Are you ready? Mine got filed today. I can breathe for another year.

I have been so busy working on stuff on my computer, it' not funny. I see it all in my sleep even. At least today, Tootsie and I took a break for a while to enjoy a speck of the beautiful day outside. What a really lovely day it was.

Tonight, Wayne came to pick up my beloved laptop, and the new hard drive that just came in the mail. He will be installing this beautiful little 320 GB hard drive in the laptop. Oh my, oh my. Now I will be able to work on projects without fear of the laptop erasing some of my files to make room for more files. Can you imagine the nerve of that laptop, suggesting that it erase some of my files to make more room!!! Hmmpf!!

It's so quiet around here without Moo and Erik. Moo had a painting job to do, and took Erik with him (one of the dwarfs). Now I have no one to argue with. Three days is a long time for the house to be so quiet. Thank goodness they will be back home tomorrow, probably late in the day.

My brother and I have been arguing with each other since we were born, I think. Do all siblings do this? But we're right there if one of us needs the other. I guess that's the most important thing.

Someone sent me this really cute picture that shows how bad the economy has become, and I thought I would share it with you. Enjoy, and y'all have a great night.

Hugs, Edna B.

Times Are Tough All Over

A Blonde Squirrel

April 13, 2009

I''m a bit tardy tonight, so I'll keep it short. Tomorrow I'll make up for tonight's shortcomings. I've been busy working on challenges, trying to get them done before the end of the month gets here.

This morning before I left work, I managed to get a couple of quick photos shot through the kitchen window of a very pretty blonde squirrel. Too bad the sun wasn't shining on him so that the color of his tail would have been quite pretty. But you can get the idea from the photo here.

I'm off to bed, Tootsie and me. Maybe with a little beauty sleep, our dispositions will be much improved. We're sort of cranky and tired. Well, I am, at least. She just follows whatever I do, God bless her beautiful little soul. Y'all have a great night.

Hugs, Edna B.

Happy Easter Day

April 12, 2009

Happy Easter to everyone. Sorry I did not post yesterday, but it was rather a a busy day, and last night I had my Bunny things to do. You know, like eggs. By the time they were cooked, and decorated, it was late, and I still had work to do - it was a work night.

So, what will you all be doing today? How do you celebrate your Easter Sunday, those of you who do. I remember when I was young, how exciting Easter morning was. The first thing we did, Moo and I, was to run down stairs to see what the Easter Bunny had left for us. There was usually a lovely basket filled with goodies.

Then we would have breakfast, get dressed, and attend church services. The one's I liked the best were the sunrise services. For some reason, everything felt awesome so early in the morning, with the whole congregation gathering to pray and watch the sun rise up over the horizon. It was such a special feeling.

When services were over, we all went on home to enjoy our sumptuous Easter dinner. After dinner, just about everyone in the city would gather in the square and walk around to meet and visit with each other, and of course, to show off any new Easter finery that we might have. We were fortunate, and always managed to have new shoes and a new outfit.

It's very early this morning, and pretty soon I will go home and set out my eggs for the dwarfs. They would be disappointed if there were no Easter eggs. Amazing, most people don't lose that wonderful childlike quality when it comes to the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.

I do have a nice freebie for you today. It's a mini kit that I offered for one of my challenges at the Magickal Scraps forum a while back. It may be seasonal, but maybe you still have some photos to scrap from the last holiday. I call it "For My Sweetheart." and I hope you enjoy it.

That's it for today. Don't eat too much candy, and y'all have a wonderful day.

Hugs, Edna B.

And here is your download link for "For My Sweetheart"

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Busy, Busy Day

April 10, 2009

Today has become a very busy day. I worked today, and in a little while have to go back for a twelve hour shift. It's not too bad, though, because I can take my laptop and maybe work on a few things. Also tonight is our forum chat, and I don't want to have to miss that.

Needless to say, this will be a short posting. Nothing really exciting or interesting happened to me today. I did get outdoors for a little while with the lady I take care of. It was such a gorgeous day and would have been wasted without a stroll around the yard to check out which plants were blooming.

I did manage to work a bit with my netbook today. Gosh, that thing takes a bit of getting used to - it's so small. But it is neat because I can toss it into my work bag and go. No lugging around an extra bag.

Now I must spend a little quality time with my little girl, seeing as how I'll be leaving again soon for work. I'll see about whipping up a freebie tonight to post for you tomorrow.

Snow Raven sent me this beautiful photo that she just took of a beautiful Red Bud tree in bloom near where she lives. I think these are one of the prettiest trees we have, although ours aren't in bloom yet. Enjoy, and y'all have a great night.

Hugs, Edna B.

Company Coming In A Few Months

April 8, 2009

My bad, my bad. I forgot all about the orange hat for Rummage Baby's forage into the woods. What was I thinking? Poor girl could have gotten shot at. While I was at it, I even fixed the color of her hair. For you, RB, I've posted a revised layout at the bottom here.

Well we certainly have something special to look forward to this coming Fall. Snow Raven will be coming here for a visit. And she will be staying on through my birthday. That should make for a grand time. Even Moo is gearing up for a fun visit.

Wow, I have a lot to do before Fall gets here. I was planning on re-doing my bedroom and computer room this year, so now is a good time to do it. My son is offering to help me to some of this, which I really appreciate. My kids have been so good to me. When I need help, one of them is always there.

In between all of this, I am still busy making backup copies to disc of most of my files. I don't ever want to go through that last mess again. Has any of you ever had to use the "restore" function? Does it work for you? When Wayne says I should try restore for whatever reason, I cringe. All it ever does for me is make a royal mess of everything. It sort of takes all my newest folders and their contents, removes their file names, and then tosses them all around a bit. Then I spend hours or weeks trying to put it all back together again. I do not like the "restore" function.

Today I need to catch up my laundry, and what else? Of course, the scatter rugs! That little girl of mine just LOVES scatter rugs. She thinks God put them here as her little private potty places. You really gotta love her.

Uncle Moo has gone food shopping for tonight's supper. He's making stuffed green peppers. Mmmmmmmm! Got you drooling yet? This is one of our favorite meals. I sometimes even take one to work with me for my little lady that I take care of. She adores Moo's cooking, especially the stuffed peppers and the pea soup. That's another one of our favorites, the pea soup. Now I'm making myself hungry!!

Before I leave you to go finish up my laundry, I'll share one of the photos I took while I was in Florida earlier this year. This is the view from my little patio. Nice and peaceful. Y'all have a great day.

Hugs, Edna B.

A Hunting We Will Go - Revised

Enjoying The "Golden" Thing

April 8, 2009

I read somewhere that when you get older, you don't require as much sleep. Hogwash to that! I seem to need more sleep than I ever did before. Now why is that, I wonder? I don't do as much as I used to. And I'm much slower than I used to be. Ha! I'll bet it's this "Golden" thing.

On a lighter side, Last night I enjoyed some beautiful pictures that Snow Raven had just taken of some of the spring flowers that were popping up everywhere. I even used one of them as a background for a layout of my Rummage Baby. I'll post that at the end of this, so as not to upset Blogger.

I look at all the other blogs and they have pictures interspersed (another$20 word for you Snowy) with their writings, and everything stays where it's supposed to. I sometimes wish that programs like this came with a user manual. Instead, they send you to a forum (which you have to join) and then you spend hours reading what other people wrote hoping that someone else asked your question, and then some more time looking to see if they ever got an answer.

Whatever happened to good old customer support? Email question, get answer back email. Again, this must be that "Golden" thing. I have found one thing though - I'm much more crochetty now. I have less patience with things. Ever been there? Sort of like - I want it now and it needs to be working just fine. I am such a spoiled brat!

Don't get me wrong, I worked hard all my life and I earned my way, but my Michael did tend to spoil me. Most anything I wanted, he got for me. I hope they have TV up there and that he got to watch yesterday's Red Sox opening day game. They beat Tampa Bay 5-3. Go Red Sox!!

I have to cut this short and get ready for my appointment to have my nails done. Then maybe I'll be able to type better. The weather outside looks fairly nice, so maybe I'll take Tootsie out for a bit later on. Y'all have a great day.

Hugs, Edna B.

"A Hunting We Will Go"

New Toys To Play With

April 7, 2009

Yesterday should have been opening day for the Red Sox, but Mother Nature had other plans for them. The game got rained out, so today is our opening day. Right now, the score is 1-1, Boston versus Tampa Bay. Man, I love these Red Sox!

I'm reading over my new "Topsy Turvy" planter to see what else I need to start my garden. I wonder if I can plant one pepper and one tomato in the same planter? It says I can fit in two tomato plants for more tomatoes, so why not one tomato and one pepper?

See that? The score is already 4-1, Boston. How's your team doing, Nani? AI know I'm not the only baseball enthusiast out there. That was another $20 word for you, Snowy.

I haven heard from my friend, Mrs. Manfink, from sunny Florida. I'm hoping all is well you and the mister. My friend, Mary Ann is starting to do much better. She was quite ill this year, and had to forego her trip to our sunny south.

Well, I have another program to play with, thanks to a very good friend of mine. This week, I will get it installed (Vista, behave yourself), so now, I'm looking forward to playing with my new Adobe Lightroom.

I just took a break to find my phone list, but it seems to have disappeared. I tell you - I must have touched it. I have the magic touch -- I touch it, it disappears. Some day I will learn not to touch things.

Poor Tootsie is going crazy looking for her ball. I took it away this morning because she peed on my scatter rug again. When she does that, I tell her "bad girl" and I don't play ball for a while. She doesn't seem to catch on. Poor Baby.

Before I leave to have some supper, I will share another springtime photo with you. I shot this photo through the window at work on a rainy day. Enjoy, and y'all have a great night.

Hugs, Edna B.

Anybody Want My Mouse?

April 6, 2009

Today was rather wet, actually very wet - windy and rainy. Lots of rain! My little plants are quite water logged, the yard is full of large puddles, but the ducks are happy. I suppose that's all that counts.

I did get a few little things accomplished on the computer though. Not much, though I'm getting tired of fighting with this stupid mouse. I go here - it goes there. I move it - it sits put. Nice little invention. And I really must get my nails chopped off. I have to re-type over and over to get rid of all the unwanted letters that get typed along with my words.

I do have a picture to share with you today. It's not a great photo, but interesting. Last night as it was getting dark outside, the deer came out into the field way across the road. It was time for dinner I guess. I grabbed my camera and rushed outside. Had to stay close to the house so the deer wouldn't see me. Needless to say, there is a bit of blur in the photo, but still you can make out the deer.

Along with my new camera, I think I need to invest in Image Stabilization lenses. My hands just aren't as steady as they used to be. Don't know why, but that's life. Anyway it's a great excuse for Meema to buy herself some new goodies.

So, Wayne came by yesterday to fix a few things on the PC. We decided that my laptop could be updated to a bigger hard drive - 360 GB, so we ordered one for me. Also some more memory - up to 2 GB. When he's done, it will be as good as a new laptop except that I will still have my XP in it. Thanks for that little blessing.

Tootsie has been so good these past few days. I keep taking breaks to play some ball with her, maybe that's why. She brings such pleasure to all of us here.

That's all my news for today. I need to get my creativity level up again, lots to do. Y'all have a great night.

Hugs, Edna B.

This PC Is Driving Me Crazy

April 5, 2009

It's kind of raw out today, matches my mood sort of. This foolish PC is driving me crazy today. If I put a disc in to look at, when I eject it, my folder that I am working in shuts down too. My mouse is not behaving. What else is lurking around the corner? Even the keyboard is up to tricks. No matter what I type, it manages to toss in a whole passel of unnecessary letters so that I have to keep re-typing. I'm getting really chummy with Spellcheck.

Last night I managed to finish up my color challenge kit, "Jasmine." But while I was working on the preview, my laptop sent me a message -- your hard drive is full, should we start deleting files to make more room? Are you nuts??? So I had to stop what I was doing, and wait till this morning to remove data to DVD's and free up some space. This is just not my week.

Blogger hasn't been so friendly lately either. If I put a picture inside my post, blogger raises havoc with my paragraphing. Bunches everything up together. That's why I try to post my pictures at the end of the blog most of the time. Today I have another cute photo to share, two ducks having a spring cleaning. It's posted at the end of the post.

Maybe tonight I will also finish up my Book of Shadows challenge. We need to come up with a spell and make a layout with it. This should be interesting. There are already some great ones posted at the forum.

Well, I'm off now to have some cold pizza and maybe another cup of coffee. Maybe even get a nap in before Wayne gets here to see if he can straighten out this ditzy computer. Y'all have a great day.

Hugs, Edna B.

A New QP For You

April 4, 2009

I don't know where the day went, but it sure did go. Have to make plans to get this little apartment of mine in shape and ready to greet company later this year. Actually, it should already be put in order, but I seem to get in my own way whenever I start to do things here. Let's face it, I was never cutout to be a housekeeper.

Getting away from that horrid subject, I really must figure out a way to protect my bird feeder from the elements. When it rains or snows, the seed gets all nasty and stuck. Not fit to be eaten then. I'll have to see if Moo has any good ideas.

The color challenge at the Magickal Scraps forum is requiring us to make a Moroccan type kit with the color chart supplied. Partway through making the kit, I stopped to make a QP for you. I hope you like it. It's called "Jasmine" - same as the kit. When I get the kit finished, I'll show you a preview of it.

Today, I came across some flower bulbs that were supposed to have been planted last fall. So I think we'll plant them anyway, and see what happens. At worst guess, maybe they will be okay for next Spring. We'll see. I also picked up my hanging planter for my tomatoes. This should be a fun experiment. I think I'll get one for Moo so that he can plant something upside down too.

I'm at work now, and I have to stop playing and get back to work, so y'all have a great night.

Hugs, Edna B.

"Jasmine " QP - 01

Here is your download link for "Jasmine" QP - 01:

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Signs Of Spring

April 3, 2009

Have you noticed the new slideshow up top here? This is the April daily download kit at Magickal Scraps. If you like it and you want it, all you gotta do is join. It's free, and the daily download kit is too. Once April is over, you can get the kit by purchasing it at the shop.

Also new, the whereabouts of the Jukebox. I moved it to the bottom of the page so that the whole thing would be visible. It just drives me crazy when only some of an item is showing.

I popped in to the Little Photoshop to post a Spring photo that I had taken last Spring, end of March. It's a little crocus trying to push it's way up through the debris and the snowdrops.

I have a couple more nice Springy photos I might post, but I have to try for a winning one again. The more I try, the more I learn. Do you think that new camera will make me a better photographer? Gosh, I want that camera so, I dreamed about it the other night. Now that's nuts for you!

While I've been trying to write my post, I'm also chatting on line with Snowy and Su, another forum member. We learn a lot from each other. This is good.

Well, now I'm going to trot myself off to bed with my little girl in tow. Y'all have a great night.

Hugs, Edna B.

Music, Music, Music

April 2, 2009

Sorry I missed yesterday, but for some reason, I had wicked chills. I was very cold all day, and by 7pm, I fell asleep in my rocking chair all wrapped up in a blanket. When I woke from that short nap, I went right to bed. This morning, so far, I feel much better.

By now, you've noticed that I've added music for your listening pleasure. Feel free to change the tune if you wish. This was all made possible with more tutoring from Snow Raven. I am such a chicken when it comes to trying different things, and when I do decide to try I can't usually figure them out without help.

This morning I have errands to do, shopping ,etc. Then maybe some laundry. If all goes well, I will be able to spend more time creating on my PC.

Now for some really good news. Do you remember that birdie picture I posted her called "Communication"? Well, I came in second place with it in the monthly challenge @ http://www.thelittlephotoshop.co.uk/. I feel really good about it because the folks over there are very good photographers, a lot of them are professional.

This month, their monthly challenge is about Springtime and things blooming. I think I should be able to come up with a decent photo for this one. How about something like this one? I call this one "Yoo Hoo! Anybody Home?"

Every Spring, this beautiful little mama is right outside the window looking in at us. We haven't figured out why yet, but it's fun to watch her.

Now I think I'll mosey on over to the forum at Magickal Scraps to see what's happening there. I try so hard to stay one step ahead of these ladies, but they are really good, and I'm usually last one in with my challenge layouts. Oh well, who cares? The fun is in the learning and participating.

Y'all have a great night now. I'll try to have a new freebie ready for you over the weekend.

Hugs, Edna B.