I'm still slowly plugging away at Jessica Sprague's class.
The lesson for day 5...uhmmm.. today was actually day 14, but I'm on day 5... well, anyhoo, day 5's lesson was on adding texture. She gave us many options and recommended this combo of old tin type, crumpled brown paper, and grungy tea-stained-looking texture. I think it lovely.

This is a close-up of my lilacs last year. The lilac hedge was loaded last year. I think it must have been too dry this past winter because there was hardly a bloom this year. I missed them.

Ladybugs!

Check out this little video
Do you think referrals are headed our way?


I was able to finish lesson 4 today. Masks. grungy edges. Fun.



This little guy was very proud of his blueberry bounty.


Peace,
Beeb

Learning new tricks

I’ve taken on a little project of late – one of many actually, but this one is enjoyable ☺
I’ve started a free class with Jessica Sprague who is an amazing digital scrapbooker and as it turns out an amazing teacher as well. The class is called Photo Editing: Frame-Ups & Special Effects.
See, one of my goals during “the wait” is to learn to edit my photos by using my new Photoshop Elements 6– I came across this free class while perusing the web looking for some free tutorials on editing. If you know of other great resources, please let me know.

Here are examples from the first three lessons.



Lesson 1 taught us to use PNG files and word art




Lesson 2 – Brushes! Who knew?

This is sweet amazing Sophie who passed away last week after a long and happy life- she will be missed!

Lesson 3 – frames and hand-tint. Put 2 & 3 together and amazing things happen.




Now I need to get to work... She just sent day 6 lesson and I've only completed 3! Good thing I can work at my own pace.

June

Rosedale Community Garden




Another project that I was really only able to get started - late - in June is participating in a community garden. a friend and I are splitting a plot and between rain and prior conflicts it was difficult to get there. However, I went by this morning and other than eggplants and cantaloupe, all my seeds have come up. it's kind
of fun.
It's a sweet garden and there is a lot of push to conserve water, compost and enjoy the space. I'll give you a little tour....



my spot freshly tilled in April


...and, today




the community education area






the compost bins



bee hive





small orchard






grape arbor


Sweet, no?

June

Flooded Basement

It's been a weird month with tons of rain which is quite unusual.
Unfortunately, my basement flooded with the monsoons over Memorial Day weekend and I'm still trying to clean up the mess (yes, THAT basement - the one I just finished and carpeted one year ago uggh!)
I panicked and called a basement restoration company - big $$$ mistake. I'd do things very differently next time - I spent $$$ and they didn't fix anything - only brought a plastic guard, fans, and dehumidifier. turns out I could have rented them myself much cheaper.







I guess they did remove the moldy baseboards and rip out the carpet pad, but I could have done that, too.







Here's the culprit - my rigged downspout full of leaves.








Here's what I'm currently left with. The mending process should begin in July. Hopefully all the rain will slow down, too.








To prevent this in the future, I now have a lovely French drain taking the water far, far away.


And a lovely mint patch - mojitos anyone? I think I could use one.

Random. Very Random.

It's been a while. so, to get myself back on the horse, so to speak, I'm just throwing some stuff out here.


There's several local fellow-adopters that I've met along this long wait. We get together almost monthly for our "survive the wait" dinner. Luckily, there have been a few munchkins that have come home in this long wait. They help the rest of us survive.





C & B are well-practiced in the art of "CHEESE"





Little T is the newest one home (came with same group as B in photo above)







Miss S has been home for 2 years now - she's admiring her pretty self before she goes to a wedding reception. What is it about pretty twirly dresses that make us girls swoon?






Here she is the few minutes before getting dressed- what a cutie.







Here is a recent addition to my family from my favorite Etsy shop.
Paige is finally home - THANKS Wzgirl!!

I fell in love with her the minute I saw her - love the glasses and the shawl (she is a bit warm in it today).
Paige was described as seeking a degree in Library Sciences at UC Berkley. Who could resist her?







Here's another Etsy find - I love this safari group made from maple they are teething toys. These are intended to be a shower gift for one of my colleagues who's having a boy, but I'm not sure they'll make it to him. I'll try to be strong!






Way back in March I went to NC to see my friend Rhonda before she passed away. While there I also got to spend some time with my pal Hulumama. My sis and niece were also there during my niece's spring break.
Here we are at Carolina Beach. Notice anything? Yeah, it's cold. We're the only diehards out there. The Donna's were a little wimpy and wore their jackets. hrumpfh...







As the title reads, this is random...

Here's one of my favorite scarves I've made. It the pattern "my so called scarf" and made with

Malabrigo Yarn Merino Worsted. The yarn was gifted to me by a dear one and I love, love love it! ( I also love my cabled St*rbucks mug!)






This is an Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern - The February Sweater. It is a fun and pretty easy pattern that is adorable. I used the same stitch pattern and created the little hat too. I've recently bought some yarn to make more of these. This one went to a little sweetie home from China.





OK, since I have broken the blogging seal - now perhaps I won't wait so long between posts - and may actually have something to say.





Peace,
Beeb

Home

Rhonda and Phyllis














She gave it a good fight.
Battling through 5 rounds of chemo.
The leukemia was vigorous.
She went home with hospice 2 weeks ago.
I was able to travel to visit her for a few hours over a few days last week.
I am grateful
it was a sweet reunion.

She left us today and is Home - dancing in the arms of her Savior.
I was told it was an elegant death - if you can use those words together.
Surrounded by loved ones,
she saw a light,
she heard her name called.
She was ready.
She will be missed.
But, she is Home.

Hey lady, where's the jerky?

It's a good thing I was told about the duck jerky on the kitchen counter when I went to pick up Sophie for the weekend. She had no interest in leaving her snuggly bed to come with me. The jerky worked like a charm to lure her into the car. And before she came out of her jerky delirium, she was safe and sound at my house with two very excited friends ready to welcome her. She glanced back at the car more than once.

She will randomly throughout the day nose me when it's time for another fix. The girl lurves her duck jerky.

What do California and Kansas have in common?

They are the only two elusive quraters minted in Denver that I'm missing from my collection. Pennsylvania mint - well that's another question.

Anyone else out there who shares my nerdy little obsession? I have two books to hold them in - one does not specify where they are minted, the other requires you collect both Denver and Pennsylvania minted quarters.

It has been fun watching change for these - silly, but fun. Cashiers often roll their eyes when I ask if they have a specific state - I don't do it if there's a line behind me so they should cool their jets, don't you think?






My favorite quarter remains Connecticut - simple and graceful "the beautiful oak"



If you live on the east coast and have too many quarters minted in P - I'd be willing to swap, I have many extra Ds!

2008 Review

February
Lannie's brush with death. She's all better now, you'd never know she had been so sick.




Started finishing my basement.


Went to Cambodia

These photos are a hodgepodge of the two weeks there. Angkor Wat, the killing fields, the heart hospital, Kampong Chhnang province,friends,people on the street, phnom penh, open-heart surgery, my toes, elephant rides, the floating village.... the list goes on.

sorry, but I've just barely learned this photo-posting stuff, so I think if you double click the contact sheet you can see the images better. I'll get better at it, promise! I wish I knew how to make captions and not the jpg number.





March and April... nothing out of the ordinary, so I'll show you some special days...

Baking day with Auntie Beeb - these are two of my favorite little ones and they can sure cook up a mean cake... or something.





Another day that little E came to visit she was wearing the sweater I made for her as a one year old. She's now 5 and thinks it looks charming as a bolero. She cracks me up!



May
LIDverssary - 2 yearsI received the cutest gift from one of my buds.


At some point the basement was finished... well sort of, is it ever really finished?
Here are some before and after shots. It's a nice livable space now with a big storage closet, playroom, guestroom and bathroom.







June
San Diego - I went to support a friend who rocked the Rock-n-Roll Marathon - she impresses me. So did the blue trees.




I also had a big event in my family - my niece had a little girl Emily Ann. she's a beauty. And.. My brother is now a grandfather... I'm a Great Aunt (I tell them I'm actually the greatest aunt!)




July
The amazing Ms hulumama graced Denver with a quick visit.

She was quite patient with the poodles - apparently Leo got a little confused and lost the stick. As a token gift for her patience, she got the pleasure of being serenaded by the poodles.





July was also the month that Cambodia came to Denver. The organization that went to Cambodia, brought a woman back to the states for surgery that is not available there. she needed her esophagus replaced after it eroded 9 years ago from drinking lye. for the last 9 years she's been feeding herself through a tube going through her abdominal wall into her stomach. She kept a cup close-by so she could spit as saliva accumulated in her mouth. The translator that was with me while I was in Cambodia (Mony) accompanied Lena (the patient) and stayed with me much of the month she was here. It was a joy - Mony is a young physician in Cambodia and eager to learn so much. She is energetic and a pure delight to have around.
Mony took a few days off from the hospital and took in some sights - it was amazing to see Denver through her eyes.
She saw snow for the first time when we drove up to Loveland pass and was ecstatic.









August

Early August brought on the Tri for the cure. It's a local sprint distance triathlon that raises money for the Denver chapter of Susan B Koman. My buddies and I did it. I finished, lived to tell about it and that's done. My buds loved it. I did it. We spent a few days at one woman's home who has a pond for swimming and lives in the foothills for some challenging biking. These are my crazy peeps at the "practice".



August also brought about the b-day of one of my favs... little E



September brought another brief visit from Hulumama.
Then a special visit from my sis and our two cousins. It was a great weekend other than Donna was little under the weather. we went pretty much nonstop and I had a blast - I'm hoping they'll come back (hint, hint)
We visited Red rocks, ate at The Fort, went antiquing, to a play (Avenue Q) at the performing arts complex and went to rocky Mountain National Park. We saw Elk - something to rub in to Greg their brother!




October
Knitting for some cute boys who are now home from China and with their parents where they belong. Their referral got me back into knitting which I had put aside for a while. I made Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jackets for them in a tweedy wool.
The pattern is rather like knitting origami. What knits into a squarish thing, folds nicely into these cute sweaters. EZ is a knitting engineering genius.




November

Our yearly visit to the alpaca farm - it was a warm day for November. these animals are so cute!






Back to visit family for Thanksgiving
Here's a few photos of the next generation. They are an amazing group of teenager/young adults.


lizy Drew and Emily Ann. Emily Ann's wearing another Elizabeth Zimmerman sweater - the February Sweather from knitter's almanac. I've been on a roll!


Two of my nieces share the same birthday - and they happen to be born on my mother's birthday, who was born on her mother's birthday... wouldn't it be amazing if my daughter turns out to be born on august 25th, too?



Gotta wonder about that short one!

December







It was a good year, but I'm ready for 2009. (good thing, I guess)

I hope we all find many blessings waiting for us in the coming year.