Heartfelt....

This was done with some vintage fabric, and quilting cotton-felt on a card and digital stitching to give it some texture. I just picked up 4 wallpaper books because it is such interesting paper to craft with and to get some new ideas. Will post them as I make them into new projects.

Doing orientation all this week, tasting all the new releases of wine at Mission Hill Winery, trying out wine and cheese pairing, and learning the new retail management system. Lots of new stuff to challenge the brain, and keep us fresh.

"For the happiest life, rigorously plan your days, but leave the nights open to chance." Mignon McLaughlin

Sunday wishes.....

"Life is like a coin, you can spend it anyway you like, but you can only spend it once."

Lillian Dickson

Life Moments...

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away"

Wouldn't it be lovely to think about 5 things in your life that took your breath away, and to have a heart that is filled with gratitude for those occasions?

This project was started at a class this spring in Arizona, but just completed yesterday when I decided how to finish it.

I hope that you have had some moments in your life that took your breath away.....

Birds....

A sure sign of Spring when you start making scrapbook pages about birds.

Christa and I were both working on projects, e-mailing photos back and forth so we could see what the other was working on.

This one is all machine sewn, distressed, hand tinted and has real feathers for visual effect.

Now I just have to find the right photo to complete this page.

A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings becasue it has a song. Chinese Proverb

My love..my son

Last night after work, I came home and decided to start a couple of pages of the photos that I took in Vancouver, and here is the first one of Jeremy and I. It is always fun to see how it will look finished. Sometimes it is difficult to know when to stop embellishing, so here is the final product.

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss

Jeremy ..... Vancouver days 3 & 4

We had a couple great days together, doing Mom and son stuff. Jeremy took me for an early Mother's Day lunch up Indian Arm in Deep Cove.

I got to meet a few of his teacher colleagues at "Riverside Secondary School" where he teaches, and it was great fun to hear them tease him. Julie had been away at Whistler, but came home before I drove back to Westbank and I was able to have a quick visit with her. 6 months is much too long to see your only child, even though he is full grown. Thank you Jeremy for the couple of lovely days spent together. Thanks Catherine for the photo of Jeremy and I.

There's nothing that can help you understand your beliefs more than trying to explain them to an inquisitive child. ~Frank A. Clark

Vancouver, Day 2

This is one of my dear friends, Shirley. Here we are at the Granville Market at False Creek after having lunch at Rubina's Grill.

She is the most fit gal I know, and will be flying to Pakistan at the end of June plans to trek to Broad Peak Base camp and hopefully onto K2 Base Camp -then cross the Gondogoro La - a pass at 5600 metres -from the Concordia Glacier to the Hushe valley it will depend on weather and acclimatization). Hiking from July 1-25. Good luck and safe journey.The web site is www.themountaincompany.co.uk.

How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious starry firmament for a roof! In such places standing alone on the mountain-top it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make - leaves and moss like the marmots and birds, or tents or piled stone - we all dwell in a house of one room - the world with the firmament for its roof - and are sailing the celestial spaces without leaving any track. ~John Muir

Vancouver, Day 1

Here I am with my friend Shannon on their 21st floor balcony overlooking False Creek. Their lovely home is perched high in the sky with the most wonderful views in all directions. Dinner on Wednesday night was at Vig's, the best Indian cuisine in Vancouver.

The trip to The Van Dusen Botanical Garden was a visual treat for all the senses. The weather sunny and warm, so I was able to drive around with the top down on my Mustang convertible. A very good day.

Thanks Shannon for your wonderful hospitality.

Friends are those rare people who ask how you are and then wait for the answer. ~Author Unknown

Clipboard & little books....

At home under the weather today, so between sleeping, resting

and trying not to get so run down again, I finished off some projects that have been sitting on my desk. I painted the clip on the clipboard, and sanded it back for a shabby look.

Found papers and stamps in my collection that finished off the little books that I love to make. I am hoping to get a good night's rest tonight so I can go on my way to Vancouver tomorrow.

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I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see. ~John Burroughs

Jeremy and Julie

I will be so happy to get some new photos of Jeremy & Julie when I am in Vancouver. They are very good about me taking their photos, and I want to get some of them in their new home. This page is part of a yearly calendar that I do, and each month I try a new technique.

So much to learn, so little time.

So, Jeremy, see you soon. I miss you so very much.

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While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about.~Angela Schwindt

Sunny Sunday...

It's off to work I go, but at least the weather is getting warmer and it is sunny.

On Wednesday I leave for Vancouver to see Jeremy, and my girlfriends. I will have a chance to catch up on their lives and spend time with Jeremy. Julie will be up at Whistler, but hoping to see her before I come back home on Sunday. How I am looking forward to seeing my son.

" Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become."

Work in progress....

There are always projects happening here

@ STUDIO {D}....love it when I have the time and all the peices are in place to play in my craft room. This scrapbook page is waiting for a photo and the little book (3x4) is just waiting to be filled with notes, quotes, & thoughts.

Thanks to all of you who have left comments, I really enjoy the fact that my photos, thoughts & crafting make someone other than myself happy. Thanks Jeremy for showing my blog to your colleagues, I was really very touched.

"True friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love"

Cindy....you go girl.

This is my friend Cindy, and our visit to the Winery (last fall), but today this post is about her coming into the 21st century, as she now has a computer, and a laptop no less.....Welcome to the e-mail age, Cindy, this will open up so many avenues for you. She is such a gifted ceramic artist, and I will be posting some of her work later on..

"We do not have to change friends if we understand friends change as we do."

Handmade cards....

These are a few samples of the cards that I finished making to send off to my sister Evelyne, who is having a fund raising event for Richard's nephew's son, Austin. He is ill and having to spend lots of time in the hospital in Calgary, AB. We have him in our prayers.

These are vintage postcards with buttons, ric rack and an old postal stamp.

Today's quote: "Create your day in advance, by thinking the way that you want it to go, you will create your life intentionally." From "The Secret"

Red Roses....

Thanks to Jim and the dogs, the Easter Bunny found his way to our home and brought me these roses while I was working. The petals feel like velvet and they smell so good. Thank you Jim, it was a lovely surprise.

There is just one life for each of us: our own. ~Euripides

Happy Easter....

Happy Easter.

A time to celebrate spring and to be thankful for all that we have, grateful for those we love, and for those who love us.

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder

Vintage Pillows....

Yesterday was a good day for me in my craft room. I made 3 pillows out of my vintage fabric collection.. The little lamb is hand embroiderd, it has the flower, chenille and linen as part of the body pillow I recoverd. These two are made out of chenille, lace and the fabric from an old table cloth. They now have a new home on our bed.

Old globes...

This is the spring look for the coffee table in our living room. Laurie and Shane sent us the book on golf courses in Colombia, SA. It has been looked at alot of times, and Jim was amazed at the number and quality of the courses there

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I found these two old globes at the Salvation Army, one dates to 1972, and the other 1964. Lavendar from my garden in an old McCoy pottery flower pot and rocks I collected from the Oregon Coast.

It is still very cold here for this time of the year, -9 yesterday and -3 this morning, but the good news is that by this weekend it should be 20. Spring is finally on it's way.

At work....

This is the beautiful "Mission Hill Family Estate Winery" where I work 3 days a week from April to mid Oct. It is a wonderful place to taste some of BC's best wines. We do several different tours a day, and tastings at the wine bar. The Terrace resturant that overlooks the lake is a fabulous place to have lunch or dinner. So this is your invitation to come to the Okanagan, and visit the wineries that are all around us here in this beautiful valley.