Rain, rain, rain

The rain rain rain came down down down

In rushing, rising riv'lets,

'Til the river crept out of it's bed

And crept right into Piglet's!

Poor Piglet, he was frightened,

With quite a rightful fright.

And so, in desperation

A message he did write.

He placed it in a bottle

And it floated out of sight.

And the rain rain rain came down down down

So Piglet started bailing.

He was unaware, atop his chair,

While bailing he was sailing!

And the rain rain rain came down down down

And the flood rose up up upper.

Pooh, too, was caught and so he thought,

"I must rescue my supper!"

Ten honey pots he rescued,

Enough to see him through,

But as he sopped up his supper,

The river sopped up Pooh!

And the water twirled and tossed him

In a honey pot canoe!

The rain rain rain came down down down...

It has been a rainy summer. Not constant, just heavy, unexpected downpours, and a lot of them. Heavy enough to cause the water to creep out of the flower beds and down the driveway.

The day starts out quite like a summer day. And then the skies darken. It becomes very still and we wait. Then is comes. The skies just open up and it pours down.

The gardens overflow.

There has been a great deal of thunder and lightening too.

Some are asking when the heat of summer will finally come and stay....but it will be August tomorrow and then September. That means fall and then, dare I say it? winter....

I asked the Lord for the cleansing rains this spring. I guess He is still cleaning. And there is a lot of cleaning that needs to be done. Thank you Lord for the rain. The sweet smelling, cleansing rain. and the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down

Taste of Saskatchewan

Harold and I biked down to Taste of Saskatchewan two weeks ago now. For you non Saskatchewanites, this is an outdoor festival of sorts, where restaurants set up house and sell their best dishes. You get a taste of all the different restaurants except there are so many of them that you never get to them all. There is also some local entertainment - and I mean local!
I found it a bit pricey for what you get and the people - well this has become a popular venue in the past few years and man was it crowded. I am not a crowds person but enjoyed the outing with Harold.

people, people, people

But we had fun and the bike ride was a work out especially with my camera case on my back with all my lenses - just in case, you know. Got a few shots of the S. Saskatchewan river on the way home. It was my opportunity to stop the bike and rest on that uphill climb over University bridge! whew!! This gal is out of shape.

So who went to Taste of Saskatchewan and did you get caught in a down pour?

Baptism

A two page layout of Allison and Mark's Baptism in Aug of 2001. White card stock does not scan well and does not photograph well. It is always trying to pick up a colour. So this layout looks far more vibrant in real life.

Once the 15 pictures were chosen and cropped this layout was a breeze - just white card stock and patterned paper - MME and then those favourite rub-ons of mine from the Creative Cafe - Creative Imaginations. Added some chipboard letters and I was done.

More layouts

I love this page. Loved taking the pictures on a morning out biking with Harold, loved making the page and love how it turned out. My special son - journalling reads...

YOU

… are gentle and kind
… are so very tender-hearted, but you conceal it
… are insightful and intuitive; you watch and observe
… make me laugh, often
… are not a talker, just a thinker
... are very good at hiding your feelings

I very much dislike this page below- bad pictures and not so nice paper I bought years ago. Wasn't going to post it - actually was thinking it might go right into the trash - but I do want to archive the events of our lives and am too weary to redo the page. Scanned a little crooked too! :)

Daughter layout ...and thoughts

Tim Holtz the guru of all things inked said something on his blog the other day that struck a chord with me. He said... ya know people ask me all the time why i give stuff away on my blog and why i always ask people to comment? well think of it this way, if you wrote letters every week to someone and they never wrote back, would you want to continue writing? i don't think so. so you leaving comments just lets me know you're out there and you're enjoying the read. i admit - i'm a blogger too! i love reading blogs, it's the morning paper with my coffee so to speak

Too bad I don't have stuff to give away...wait a minute ~ I have an old piano that needs tuning. Seriously, let me know if you want the piano. It is in the basement.

I am now about 2/3 the way through the 2001 photos. ....sigh. When I get to 2003 I started to have some digital and I was well into digital by 2004. When my scrapbooking gets to that point I should have some serious fun with the photos on my pages. I have a goal!! And I need to get caught up before grandchildren start arriving.

Now.... my latest page....Allison took a look at this 2001 photo of her that was sitting on my desk and asked why I would scrapbook THAT photo - she thinks every photo of herself is terrible so I ignore most of these comments. She came back a day later and commented on this layout - "very cute layout Mom". Perhaps the photo was growing on her...or maybe she just liked the layout. :)

I used product from every company in my stash,so I won't bore you with the list here, but do feel free to ask (maybe even leave a comment?) and I will be glad to tell you what I used.

This layout was inspired by a page from my favorite magazine - Scrapbook Trends (this is the Aug 08 edition). I don't think I have ever found a scrapbooking magazine that is so full of ideas and so worth every penny.

Have you ever done a layout inspired by something in Scrapbook Trends?

everyday "Music"

Another layout from 2001 and another "Music" layout. What can I say - my boys were always on their guitars.

I used all the Creative Cafe products and some rubons from the stash.

Journal reads....
Music is a staple in the Cortens family. The McNairnay family is pretty musical too. And so, no wonder our children are drawn to all things musical. So are their parents.

Every visit to Coney meant guitars everywhere. The boats coming over to the island had more musical paraphenalia than suitcases of clothes. Instruments were only outnumbered by bags of groceries. It made for a fun week - food and music.

Mark shares some jammin' time with Stephen and Paul with Adrian.

Carefree

Uncle Peter took the girls tubing in his boat - now THAT was fun!

Simple and quick page. Used the new Cloud Nine paper line and their great embellishments. White gel pen for a little journalling.

Fish Fry

A two page layout for the 2001 album - getting there! How to get 10 pictures of the family reunion fish fry on to two pages. Used Creative Imaginations paper and embellishments and rub ons from the Creative Cafe.

"98" Very Superior

98 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

So how do you score as a 1930's house wife. I always knew I was a tad old fashioned - it is just the way that I was raised. But I am darn proud of it! I would NEVER prepare breakfast in my nightie. And I don't plan to change - besides I am, according to this test, very superior! According to my 18 yr old daughter I am too particular. sigh! Call me old fashioned - I am who I am.

So, go ahead - take the test and let me know how you score...be honest now!!

OOOH, AAAH

Fireworks and kids! oh the excitement...to stay up way past bedtime, go outside in the dark and THEN - all the big noises and the flashes of colourful lights. Well one of the highlights of family reunions at Coney, is the annual fish fry (that layout is next), followed by the family portrait (recently posted), clean up and then fireworks. In the past few years as the kids have all grown up, the fireworks have been replaced with talent shows and jammin' on the guitars. But in 2001, there were fireworks!

This Bo Bunny paper was perfect and I thought of it as soon as I cam e across the photos. It is called "fireworks" (imagine that). Used up some Maya Road chipboard (the stuff never gets old) that I painted red and then with my glue pad added some glitter (ProvoCraft). The letter stickers are Basic Grey and I sanded the heck out of them. I hope to add some new bling that came in last week - in the shape of little STARS!!! Now how cool is that??

Okay, enough gabbing, I know you are here for the pictures....LOL

Chaos and Control

Can you tell I went to Get Smart last night? haha Great Movie - that from someone who does not watch TV and has not been to a movie for over a year.
These are family pictures from 2001. There were 36 of us to organized so it was chaotic to say the least. And the sun was quickly setting.

I think I was a little tired when I put this page together - feels like I just glued what was handy down - you know - a rather chaotic approach? But hey they can't all be a masterpiece. The memory is going into the album.

Have a blessed day everyone.

Meet you at the Beach

I have the day off. The WHOLE day!! No work, no duties (okay the laundry and a pile of dishes await me...and the back garden is full of weeds - AGAIN!). No entertaining, no one coming for supper - kids working - the WHOLE DAY OFF!!

It started with a sleep in! Yup - did not get out of bed until 7:30am! Then off for a bike ride - a long one through the U of S checking out a few things (will share that news later) and then biking to the coffee shop with my sweetheart.

Home and .....scrapbooking. Okay I cleaned out the fridge and made refrigerator soup - but that was needed so I wouldn't be tempted to eat the wrong things. I simply HAVE to get 10 pounds off and get into shape soon (will share why later).
So here is the mornings creative work and I am off to do another page...right after I throw in a load of laundry!

I used heidi swapp paper and Prima flowers for this. Thickers chip board letters and....my most favorite product of late - the one I would most definitely take with me if I were marooned on a desert island with all the necessary living amenities (including a supply of Corona) and a table for scrapbooking and my hammock for sleeping ...yes I would take my Creative Imaginations rub-on letters! Yup - love these a whole lot!

These are pictures from the family reunion of 2001 - 23 cousins hanging out at the beach! They are not all in these photos.

My next page is an attempt to scrapbook the chaos of arranging the family photo shoot. Hopeful to post it tomorrow.

Carpe Diem!

#1 Dad

This layout all comes from the Creative Cafe - all except the little clock (heidi swapp) and the chip board # 1 (K&Company) I went into work 2 hrs early and stayed a half hr after to get this done ...but the page only really took about 45 min. I was just too busy helping Laura unpack 6 boxes of new stuff. I couldn't resist. Is there ever a day when we are NOT putting out new product?
My journalling is on the tag in the pocket and is about remembering visiting and looking after Dad this past January when he was really sick and then being able to visit him two months later and get a picture of him when he was not so very sick.
It is rare that Dad smiles for a picture - but I think at this point he was glad to be alive and feeling more like himself again. We all felt the same way too!

T-Shirts I want to buy!

Have a great day!

A real cowboy.

Hope this one doesn't offend - please let me know if it does and I will curtail my humour......but it sure made me chuckle. :)

An old cowboy sat down at the Starbucks and ordered a cup of coffee. As he sat sipping his coffee, a young woman sat down next to him. She turned to the cowboy and asked, "Are you a real cowboy?"
He replied, "Well, I've spent my whole life breaking colts, working cows, going to rodeos, fixing fences, pulling calves, bailing hay, doctoring calves, cleaning my barn, fixing flats, working on tractors, and feeding my dogs, so I guess I am a cowboy. How about you, young lady? What's your story?"

She said, "I'm a lesbian. I spend my whole day thinking about women. As soon as I get up in the morning, I think about women. When I shower, I think about women. When I watch TV, I think about women. I even think about women when I eat. It seems that everything makes me think of women."


The two sat sipping in silence.


A little while later, a man sat down on the other side of the old cowboy and asked, "Are you a real cowboy?"


He replied, "I always thought I was, but I just found out that I'm a lesbian."

..if you laughed...leave a comment. :)

Jammin'

There are guitars all over our house. Classical, bass, electric, electric classical and every combination and permutation. I love it. Music belongs in every home. Okay maybe not the drums and those amplifiers, but sweet classical guitars and the piano, a little flute, clarinet, trumpet and recorder.

Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and
you will find that it is to the soul what the water-bath is to the
body. Oliver Wendell Holmes

My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and
refreshed by music when sick and weary. Martin Luther

Here is a layout done Sunday evening - about the only time I have to scrapbook these days....sigh.. I used pattern paper from DCWV (quitar paper) and the Creative Cafe (all the rest of the paper). Riff Raff chip board guitars are painted and flocked. Thickers letters and some brads. And no I didn't put the paper on crooked (although I have done that) but it scanned a tad askew)

Journalling reads...

Like Father, Like Son If I couldn’t find David in the evenings then he just might be in the basement in Paul’s room jammin’ to the Beatles. How those two love to listen and play along with the Beatles – and many other ‘rockers’ of the 60’s and 70’s. They would be lost in there own world of being a momentary rock star, jammin’. Then came the drums!

The Brothel Parrot

The Brothel Parrot

A woman went to a pet shop & immediately spotted a large, beautiful parrot.. There was a sign on the cage that said $50.00.
'Why so little,' she asked the pet store owner.
The owner looked at her and said, 'Look, I should tell you first that this bird used to live in a house of Prostitution and sometimes it says some pretty vulgar stuff.'

The woman thought about this, but decided she had to have the bird any way. She took it home and hung the bird's cage up in her living room and waited for it to say something. The bird looked around the room, then at her, and said,
'New house, new madam.'
The woman was a bit shocked at the implication, but then thought 'that's really not so bad.' When her 2 teenage daughters returned from school the bird saw them and said, 'New house, new madam, new girls.' The girls and the woman were a bit offended but then began to laugh about the situation considering how and where the parrot had been raised.

Moments later, the woman's husband Keith came home from work.
The bird looked at him and said,

'Hi Keith'

Word Play

Here is the Washington Post's Mensa Invitational which once again asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
The winners are:
1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
10. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
11. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
12. Karmageddon: It's when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, and then the Earth explodes, and it's a serious bummer.
13. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
14. Glibido: All talk and no action.
15. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
16. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
17. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
18. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm
in the fruit you're eating.

The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.


1. coffee, (n.) the person upon whom one coughs.
2. flabbergasted, (adj.) appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.
3. abdicate, (v.) to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. esplanade, (v.) to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. willy-nilly, (adj.) impotent.
6. negligent, (adj.) absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.
7. lymph, (v.) to walk with a lisp.
8. gargoyle, (n.) olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. flatulence, (n.) emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has
been run over by a steamroller.
10. balderdash, (n.) a rapidly receding hairline.
11. testicle, (n.) a humorous question on an exam.
12. rectitude, (n.) the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. pokemon, (n.) a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. oyster, (n.) a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism, (n.) the belief that, after death, the soul flies up
onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. circumvent, (n.) an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.



How do people think of these things!

The Reno is complete!

The IKEA shelf finally arrived. (Never order IKEA on line - takes forever and costs and arm and a leg! Take a truck to Edmonton) This past week after work I visited Charter House Interiors several times - and each time found just the right piece of art, room embellishment or lamp and at a great price - love this place! Highly recommended for that perfect accent piece and really fun lamps! And they have a great little soup and sandwich place on the second floor.
So we are finished the reno!

This room reno has been a work in progress. The before picture....

The after....

Love that tall square lamp in the corner. David and I had been looking for the right lamp for that corner for quite a while and spotted this at Charter House Interiors - there were two to them - and they had just arrived - and they both sold that day! Cool lamp eh?

Above - the IKEA shelf and below the hardwood down the front hall.

...and some of our unique purchases this week ~ to finish it off.

Thanks for letting me share our latest adventure with you. I am happy that all the construction, painting and decision making is over, but we had fun doing this whole project together. Every piece was a joint decision from the floor colouring, window treatments, furniture and even the knick knacks - we picked them all out together and I think that is the best part of the whole renovation. We planned together, tore out carpet together, cleaned up together, painted together, shopped together - and had fun the whole time! I guess after 29 years you just think as one. Blessings! However, may we not step foot in a floor covering place for at least five years! Way too many choices these days.

Brothers

A 15 min Sunday afternoon page. Used the Basic Grey archaic line and the Brothers rub-on is courtesy of Laura - she gave it to me - said she didn't have any use for it. hehe - I guess not. :) unless Seth's Mom decides he needs a brother. :) ...or you can always wait until you have two grandson's Laura...but by then there will be something far more exciting in scrapbooking to use.

The metallic letters are for my boys names - I suppose if Mark and Paul were to switch places it would be MPH. hahaha

Creative Cafe has arrived.

Oh my, I am at a loss for words...really...I mean....it is all so incredible... come and see for yourself! I am so excited. Okay, girl hold yourself together. The Creative Cafe is up and running at JSI - and the stuff is...well...I love it all. What can I say.

Well I can tell you that this was not the week to be working 40 hours at the other job!! DARN!! I am busting with ideas, a ton of product and no time. How am I supposed to concentrate at work? But I will be at JSI on Saturday and will get to make a few projects with all of you locals.

The paper, the rub-ons, the buttons, the fabulous felt - it ALL works so beautifully together. I tell you, my next day off I will be prolific with the pages. All the product in this Creative Imaginations Creative Cafe just works together so beautifully that being creative has never been easier.

This page layout idea came from Scrapbook trends February book. (the best little idea book I have ever bought) Once I had the layout idea, the paper from the Creative Cafe just made it. All Creative Cafe except two firefighting embellishments from my KI Memories firefighting stuff. This page took less than 30 minutes - probably 20.

Journalling reads....

I wanted you to be an electrical engineer.
You have the brains and the math skills.
But you didn’t want a sedentary job.
You wanted to help people.
So now you are a firefighter.
And I couldn’t be more proud of you!

Watch the JSI site for the Creative Cafe 'Happy Hour' projects of the day. We are taking scrapbooking and creativity to a whole new level and we want to share it all with you. Come feel our excitement! I will be working at JSI this Saturday...oh my long week! Entertaining Sunday and back to work for five days again on Monday. This too shall pass. I will get some pages done in there somewhere.

The Proper Diet

After an exhaustive review of the research literature, here's the final word on nutrition and health:


1. Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
2. Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
3. Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
4. Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.
5. Germans drink beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than us.


CONCLUSION: Eat and drink whatever you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you, The Canadian Government is trying to correct the problem.

hahahha

New from Cloud 9.

Two new lines from Cloud line - Cocoa Mint and Cinnamon Stick - and they both work well together. I have used the paper and embellishments from both lines on these two layouts. Just couldn't wait to use this paper and all the fun stuff that goes with it.

How smart is Your Right Foot?

Just try this. It is from an orthopedic surgeon............ This will boggle your mind and you will keep trying over and over again to see if you can outsmart your foot, but, you can't. It's preprogrammed in your brain!

1. While sitting where you are at your desk in front of your computer, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number '6' in the air with your right Hand. Your foot will change direction.

I told you so!!! And there's nothing you can do about it! You and I both know how stupid it is, but before the day is done you are going to try it again, if you've not already done so.

Father son bonding.

About six weeks ago David and I stopped in at Pier 1 Imports to get some decorating ideas. We spotted a very cool picnic table. It was wooden, just like the 20 yr old wooden table in our back yard. Perhaps a new bright coat of paint could make ours look like this one. Well when Mark arrived home after his graduation, he and David set to work on this table. However it had a few rotted boards after sitting in the rain and snow for so many years, so off to home depot they went for wood. ....and a few other "necessities"!

and they set to work... (that is Harold throwing the discus there AKA a new blade for the saw. )

Long story short....there is nothing left of the old table and benches. It all sits in a heap at the side of the house waiting for a trip to the dump. And guess who gets to use his new jig saw!

At this point Mark had to head back to Shilo. But all the pieces for the benches were cut and ready to assemble and the table was ready for sanding and painting. David spent all of Tuesday putting the benches together. Then when I arrived home from work Saturday evening he had a big grin on his face! "Come and see dear"

Wood ~ $300.00

Bolts and hardware ~ $40.00

Paint ~ $ 30.00

sandpaper ~ $3.00

New jigsaw ~ "not that much really dear"

Other hardware ~ $35.00

Father - son bonding - PRICELESS

Feeling of accomplishment - PRICELESS

He also cleaned out the rain gutters and made supper! Love this guy!!