Stamping!!

Once in a while, I do finally manage to get away and do a little stamping, but it usually is only when I have a card that is due, such as birthdays or sympathy.  I did agree to do the Technique Junkies Just One swap, but didn't get my card off until the 5th, so didn't even try to join for July.  My sister's birthday was in June, too, so.........., and had a sympathy card to do for tomorrow.

This was for my sister and is the paper piecing technique.  The printed paper is from the Old World paper pack, the pot is an Inkadinkado stamp and the flowers are Stampin' Up, as is the other paper.

One of the techniques from the latest Technique Junkies newsletter is called "Faux Tiles".  It is not only an easy technique, but a very stunning one.  It also works to make a card look like a Delft tile.
This one is done in pretty in pink and chocolate chip inks from Stampin' Up, the cherry blossom and sentiment stamps are also from Stampin' Up.  The ribbon is from Michael's.

Lastly, a very simple sympathy card for the husband of a friend of mine.  He was a rancher, farmer, lover of animals and simply did not wake up last Friday.  They are holding a "cowboy" funeral for him tomorrow - his son and grandsons run the local sale barn, so that's where the funeral will be, and his hearse will be his horse trailer.  I don't know what church they attended, but do know he was a good Christian man and will be greatly missed.
Hope your summer is going well for you!!

This and that!

As much as we hate it, there are times when we must say good-bye to those we love, animals included.  When Roy and I got married, he was owned by a big tuxedo Manx by the name of Pete that had moved in with him and his last wife shortly after they moved into this house.  While he never wanted to be cuddled, after I removed a big matted wad of hair from his lower back, he was my friend and at times would enjoy curling up on my lap.  At the age of 24, tho, we knew we wouldn't have him forever and sure enough, Mother Nature took her toll in the form of a pancreatic infection.  Even though he had two laser treatments and was on a special diet, it was not enough and last Tuesday, we knew it was time.  He knew it was time, too, and rarely fussed on the 30-mile trip to the vet's, except when the deer ran into the side of us. 
Why it is that things come in groups is one of life's big questions and this was certainly the case.  It was about 9:30 p.m. and the area between us and the vet in Paonia, my hometown, is notorious for deer and elk movement.   This one, probably about a two-year-old, was standing on the yellow line and when we saw him, Roy hit the brakes and swerved, but apparently, the deer moved right at that time because our side-view mirror was completely demolished and Roy's window was shattered.  There was even glass in my hair, in the cat carrier and my "Bubba" cup, which is a covered travel cup in which I had a straw!  And the deer ran off!!
We miss Pete, but since he didn't cuddle like a lot of cats, it hasn't been quite like it would have been if he did cuddle.  He did like to be around people and would come in and let me know he was in the room, then go lay down somewhere and sleep.  He did have a habit of coming up to me when he wanted food and at first, he wouldn't say anything, so I didn't normally know he was there.  He did finally get to the place he would come in and rub against my leg to let me know he was there.  If he was hungry and I didn't respond, he would finally meow - once, and if I still didn't respond, I would get one claw in the leg, not all five, just one! 
I used to joke about how he reminded me of the bulldog in the old Tom and Jerry cartoons - all shoulders and no hips.  He would walk into the kitchen and stretch and that's just what he looked like!  He never laid down, he just dropped and you would hear a thump, even if you weren't in the room!  Of course, the one time I got anywhere close to weighing him, his back half weighed in at about 18 lbs., so..........
So, enjoy sleeping in the sun and being a big lazy boy, Pete - we miss you!