Looking Up~

On the drive to my sisters in Central Oregon. Just before we crossed over Mt. Hood. Morning.

I've said it many times here on my journal and my man is most likely tired of hearing me say it but I never tire of the Oregon sky. We went out in the woods this weekend to cut down our Christmas tree with my sister & brother-in-law and the sky was amazing on our drive to her house for Thanksgiving, during our tree cutting expedition and on our drive home.

Just North of Sisters, OR. out in the woods cutting down our Christmas tree.


Later that night we went to a Christmas parade and still the sky was awesome.

The Fall weather has been absolutely perfect and this weekend was gorgeous. Let me just say, "I never tire of the Oregon sky. It is so awesome."

On our drive home. It was a beautiful weekend and I'm so thankful on this Thanksgiving weekend.

Thankful~

We are receiving a kingdom that can't be shaken. So let us be thankful. Then we can worship God in a way that pleases him. We will worship him with deep respect and wonder. Hebrews 12: 28

Elaine: Don't Look!!!!!!

This is my Christmas present to my friend Elaine. She loves all things thrifted, pink, light green, kitty oriented and has the most amazing cottage house where she displays a wonderful talent for decorating. Pointy Kitty from Wee Wonderfuls will be the perfect addition to her house.

I used a thrifted quilt that somone had already cut into. Felt for nose and stripes, eyelet material behind the button eyes and a pretty pink bow for one last feminine touch. I hope the real kitties are able to resist Pointy Kitty.

Housing~

Busy making houses for an ornament swap I'm in. These little cuties are so addicting. My house looks like a glitter bomb went off. I have glitter on my scalp, on my face, on my clothes and in my dreams. I still need to add the red & white bakers twine on top for hanging.

Playin~

I took the day off to hang with my man. Our 28th anniversary is tomorrow but since we don't have 'people' or family to leave our kids with, we won't be doing much tomorrow, alone. So today is our day while the kids are in school.

Going downtown PDX to have lunch. Salt & pepper squid. Yum. Going to fabric depot to find material for our granddaughters rocking chair that my man is upholstering for her for Christmas. I can't wait to see the finished product. He's so good at what he does! Going to the movies to see Appaloosa and walk around downtown with camera in hand. Local weather forecasters promise dry weather until it will be time to come home to the kids so it should be a good day.

I then will be going out to dinner with a couple of good pals and staying up late to craft with one of them. Promises to be my ideal day. I hope yours is a good one too.

Christmas WIP 08~

::migraine gone now::burning Christmas CD's::fire burning::work in progress for Ornament Swap::listening to Christmas music::raked up the last of the leaves yesterday::re-stacked the wood pile on the patio:: The receiving is fun, no doubt, but I absolutely love to swap so I can imagine, create and put together the care package that I'll be sending out. Lovely ladies that I'm swapping with in the Holiday Swap, Cookie Swap and Ornament Swap.

I don't know any of the people that I'll be swapping with in the Ornament Swap since who I send to will not be who send to me but I love the friendships made in the other two swaps. These ladies have been fun to talk to via email and getting to know them through their blogs and conversations. Nothing makes me happier than to create for others.

Through all the years of making stuff, I only have a few things that I've kept. I mostly make to give away. So much creating this Christmas. Mostly made Christmas presents. I need to take pics.

My Favorite Veteran~

my dad

He was a paratrooper in WWII. His platoon would jump during airshows and parades to promote support of the war. My dad wanted nothing more than to go to war rather than do public relations. He got his wish and the glider he was in got shot down. My dad was sitting in a jeep full of their parachutes when they were shot down. He survived with broken legs and that was the end of his war career. I love this man.

Help Wanted~

Desperately need help with raking.

We usually have a 5ft. x 5ft. x 70ft. long pile of leaves out on the front curb each year and the city workers will come by and suck them up at the end of November.

We have 50 year old trees in our backyard and they like to drop just a few leaves each year.

We've already raked one complete load of leaves and this is the next load that needs raking. So...any takers?

Maybe~

Still thinking about how I feel sometimes and now I'm wondering if this may be what I'm experiencing.

Stresses me:

-unfamiliar places

-sometimes traveling short distances

-insecurity

-out of my comfort zone

-fight or flight reaction

Most day I'm OK going to work and church but shopping, grocery shopping, church events other then Sunday morning, public events and the kids school events put me on edge.

I suffer from migraines and I'm beginning to wonder if they are connected to this. I hardly ever have them when I'm at home with no plans to go anywhere. I get them often during the work week and mostly at work. I constantly have my Theracane with me to help massage out the beginnings of a migraine so I can stay relaxed and not tense. I don't even have a stressful job, I like my co-workers very much and I like what I do so what is it that stresses me?

I don't recall any trauma as a child or adult that would cause me to fear going anywhere. We always had tons of family and friends around when I was growing up so it's not like I had a quiet upbringing. As a kid I tapped dance and had many performances, twirled the baton and had many competitions & parades. In high school I was on the flag team and loved the football games, competitions and parades.

Never liked going to clubs or parties. Those always represented danger and tension caused by alcohol and drugs. As a teenager and adult I've never been comfortable in social settings when it was just about socializing and chatting. I'm not good at small talk so I figured that was what made me uncomfortable. Well, I'm tired of thinking about it. Just going to deal with it one day at a time.