Ray's Surgery

Ray's surgery this morning went very well.  We went to the surgery center at 7:00 and we were on our way home before 11:00.  He can't have any solid foods until tomorrow, but is moving around and didn't  sleep at all today which was what I expected him to do.  He has a prescription for medium good painkillers, so we will see what the next few days bring.  I enjoyed having him home and not doing anything today except hanging out.  We will see what the next few days bring with that also.

Surgery Tomorrow

Ray is having surgery tomorrow morning to correct a hernia he has developed.  It is amazing how this procedure has changed in the last several years.  It will be done on an outpatient basis and he should be home before noon.  He will be off work for thirty days, since he can't lift any thing heavier than fifteen pounds..  I am thinking this will give us a taste of what it will be like when he retires.  I am pretty sure we will enjoy it a lot. 
But first we have to get him repaired.  The doctor will place a piece of mesh over the spot to hold the intestine in place behind the muscle. I am not clear on whether or not there is going to be a small incision, or if it will be like a laparoscopy.  I will find all that out tomorrow.  Good thoughts are requested.

Hacked

I had been pondering about what to post recently.  This was not what I had planned to do.  My email was hacked today.  Everyone on my contact list was sent an email claiming that I was in England, had been robbed and needed 1,500 pounds to get home.  Obviously not so, and so far the friends who have called me wondered when we had left, since many of them had seen me in the last day or so.  In addition to the email, it then deleted my contact list, so I can't email people to tell them this is bogus.  It then put a forward on my email, so all my mail was being sent to a bogus address. 

Luckily, ATT was able to help me clear up the problem.  I am lucky in that since I use web based email, nothing got on my computer itself.  You have to be grateful for small blessings.  I am in the midst of changing all my passwords, which is hard.  It is difficult to come up with as many different passwords as is needed, but I guess I will manage.

In the meantime, if you have my email address and would like to help me out, please send me a message and I will put my contact list back together.  If I don't know you though, don't bother.  You will be deleted.

Hero Arts Fall Cards

We will be making these cards at Scrapbook Garden on Saturday October 23rd.  The cards also use the new Sizzix embossing machine.  There is a wide variety of techniques used in this set of cards.  I really enjoyed the Happy Thanksgiving and the Autumn cards.

Pecan Pear Torte

I made this torte for dessert today.  Ray had been given a bunch of local pears by a co-worker.  While we were doing a good job of eating them out of hand, we thought there must be some ways to use them in desserts as well.  That led me to my "Simple and Delicious" Cookbooks.  This delicious cake was able to be made in a total of about two hour including cooking time for the cake.  I was amazed at how pretty the cake looked.  I will be making it again.

It's all about Wyatt

That is what Wyatt asked Ray the other day; if it was all about him.  Ray said it most certainly was, as any Papa worth his salt would say.  I did these pages on Friday night at Scrapbook Garden.  It had been a long time since I had gone to a crop there and it was a lot of fun.  I did something different this time.  I only took tools and pictures this time and chose all the paper and embellishments while I was in the store.  I didn't spend all that much money by doing this and I only bought what I needed to do that page.  There wasn't a whole lot of extra stuff to take home.

Little Yellow Bicycle Halloween Envelope Album

I really really love the Pinecone Press Halloween line, but this envelope album by Little Yellow Bicycle is a really close second.  I will be leading this class on Tuesday, October 26 at 6:00 at Scrapbook Garden.  LYB has provided a generous kit and the results are totally fun.  It gave me a refresher course on creating envelopes and putting in tie fasteners with snaps.  I still need to practice with my Cropodile on that. 

Halloween in Wonderland by Graphic 45 and Pinecone Press

Here is another winning Options kit by Graphic 45 and Pinecone Press.  First of all the paper is wonderful.  The illustrations are similar to the old original Alice in Wonderland pictures from when I was a child.  Second the projects are fantastic.  The class is being offered Saturday, October 9th at 3:30 at Scrapbook Garden.  The primary project will the the album which I like so much I don't even feel the need to put pictures in it, I like to look at it that much.  The second project is the optional one that supplies will be available at additional cost.  It is a three dimensional picture.  We will work on it if we have time, or I will give instructions to take home.  I love it too and can't wait to put it up as part of our Halloween decorations.

Spiderman, Spiderman

Saturday was the last official day for the Farmers Market in Haysville.  There was free horseback rides and face painting for the kids.  Ray took Wyatt and Andrea up to ride the horse and get painted as you can see.  The horseback ride was not a total success.  Wyatt rode the horse but it was too big for him to be comfortable.  Andrea was not having anyone put her on that horse.  I was sort of surprised because I loved horses from when I was very small and size never bothered me.

The face painting went a lot better.  Wyatt was made up as Spiderman and he became Spiderman for the day.  He was still in character when I got home late Saturday afternoon.  When it was time to take a bath, he was very upset.  He didn't want to wash off the remaining makeup.  He didn't want to become "Regular Wyatt" again.  It was funny and sad.  Wyatt's current career path is Super Hero so he felt it was a real set back.

Andrea wouldn't sit still for face painting either, but she allowed them to pain Magenta from Blues Clues on her arm.  It didn't upset her at all when it was washed off.

Two recent Cards

I made these two cards last week.  The top one was for my sister in law's birthday.   The bottom one was for Nick and Nicole's eighth anniversary.  The birthday card is neat because the front is folded back and another piece of paper glued on to make the card an easel.  Very cool in my opinion and I like the way it make it easy to display the card.  I found the design in this months Cardmaker Magazine by Tami Mayberry.  Cardmaker magazine is a wonderful source for card ideas.  The anniversary card is adapted from a card in the Basic Gray Capella line card class I will be teaching next week on the 11th at Scrapbook Garden.  Personally, I think these cards are some of the most attractive we have ever made.

Quick Quotes Portrait Canvas

I will be leading this Quick Quotes Canvas class on Saturday October 9th at Scrapbook Garden.  It is a beautiful wall hanging and is not difficult to make.  It is also one that can be replicated very easily for gifts to family members for the holidays.  The photo used is an 8 X 10.  I colored my portrait sepia to enhance the antique feeling.  Now all I have to do is figure out where I will hang it after the class.

Jackie's Birthday

My sister in law, Jackie had her 60th birthday last week.  This afternoone her children  threw a surprise party for her.  It was a total success.  She had lots of family come, the house was packed and Denise and Chad made a great lunch.