We golfed at Taquitz Creek yesterday - my game was less than stellar but I enjoyed the day nonetheless. The weather was absolutely fabulous! We have no idea what the temperature was but suspect it was close to 90 degrees. On Sunday it was 84 degrees in the shade by the pool and Monday sure felt hotter. We were late teeing off because of a backlog so we didn't finish our round until about 3:30, then we had a very well deserved glass of ice cold beer. Nectar of the gods!

I checked the thermometer this morning at 8:30 and it was already 70 degrees so I think we're in for another hot one. My kind of day - I so enjoy lying the pool when we're here. Plan is to have burgers tonight for dinner so it should be a very lazy day.

I've managed to do some journalling. I should have brought some supplies with me but didn't so I had to purchase them here. I've never really liked doing my backgrounds ahead of time but now I can see that doing that is the way to go. I realize that when I want to work on a page, I want to work on it now, not after I wait for the page to dry. It's a lesson well learned!

I'm happy with my supply purchases and since it's all "stuff" I can use at home, it won't go to waste. I'm hoping to do a few more pages before I go home. Will scan them and post when I get home.

Gotta run - I hear the sun calling my name!

It was another glorious day in Palm Springs today. It was 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We spent the day alternating between swimming in the pool, floating in the pool and lying in lawn chairs by the pool. After such a lazy day, we decided not to cook so we went to Applebee's on Date Palm and had a lovely supper. We made it in time for happy hour and were able to enjoy a couple of half price margaritas and an appy before having dinner. Of course we couldn't pass up the dessert shooters and by the time we finished the chocolate mousse we were well and truly stuffed. Tough life :)

After supper we headed off to the Spa Casino for a couple of hours. Kerry and Joyce held their own, me ? Not so much. Hence why my visits to the casino are few and far between.

The issue with the tv has been resolved. The owner's son came by today and replaced the tv and left us a couple of bottles of wine to enjoy. A very nice gesture!

Sunday we're looking forward to another fabulous day in paradise! Pool time, relaxation, maybe some adult bevvies? Paradise!

Today we golfed at Indian Canyons in Palm Springs. We had a tee time of 12:26 so we were starting to lose daylight by the time we finished. The day was spectacular and I played a good round. We played with a gentleman who was 83 and looked about 70. He was amazing and came in with an honest round of 90. When we told him that he didn't look 80 nor did he play golf like he was 80, his reply was that he didn't feel 80. He golfs in the summer and skies at Whistler in the winter. Unbelievable. It's so nice to see someone in his golden years who has such a full life and such a wonderful attitude. I sure hope I'm able to enjoy life as much at that age.

Depending on which channel you listen to, the weather tomorrow will range between 75 and 85 with the weather becoming steadily warmer through the weekend and into the beginning of next week. We plan take a few days to lay around the pool and enjoy the weather and will golf again on Monday.

Having a wonderful and relaxing time!

I'm happy to say that the issue with the TV is getting resolved. We reported it to the rental company and have had conversations with the owner. Thankfully he's very understanding and apologetic about the problems we're having and is not pissed with us. I feel badly that we've had to keep bugging him - he's looking into getting the problem resolved for us.

Last night SIL took us out for dinner. We went to a fabulous Italian restaurant, voted the best in the desert for several years. Formerly "Mario's", it's now operating under the name of "Di'Carlos". Great meal and great atmosphere. We ate out on the patio where the heaters kept us nice and warm.

My SIL got up ths morning before both myself and DD. She found a nice little present in the pool. A big fat rat, thankfully deceased! Thank goodness the pool guys came this morning to deal with it. They had just removed it when I walked out onto the patio. EWWWWW! Thank God one of us noticed before anyone jumped into the pool! More chemicals please!

After all my foraging for art journal supplies, I remembered (after I drove past it) that there's a Michael's very close to the house. DUH! I'm going to try to stop there sometime today or tomorrow to pick up the supplies I'm missing.

We're off to play some golf today and then we'll have a nice dinner at home.
Gotta run....Caio!

Dear SIL arrived last night and is settling in after a long trip. She and DD went swimming late last night when she arrived. Apparently the pool was nice and warm but the air was cool so they didn't hang around outside too long after getting out of the water.

I woke up at 730 this morning to the house alarm going off. I guess DD forgot to tell her about the alarm so of course as soon as she opened the door to the patio it went off. Luckily when the alarm company called this time, I actually knew the abort code and security code for the alarm. Thankfully no need for police attendance!

We're having issues with the tv in the living room. For some reason we are getting a totally blank black screen. We're getting audio but no picture. I've reset it several times but it's not correcting the problem. Pain in the ass! I have no idea what button I touched (totally by accident) to make us lose video and no matter what I touch I can't get it to come back. I really don't want to be without tv in the living room for the remaining 3 weeks - but I'm really embarassed to have to call the rental office, yet again, because of a problem with something. I'm really hoping that we can rectify it soon. Always something!

I felt the need to do some journalling so DD and I went out and foraged for supplies. I was able to get almost everything I needed at a very reasonable price. The only thing I couldn't find was a white prisma pen so I purchased one of those white out pens figuring I could use it in a pinch. The other thing I'm missing is a brush for my watercolour pencils - guess I'll improvise with some Q tips. So far I haven't done any journalling but hope to do some soon. Maybe later today.

Well must run as I feel the need for some pool time! Wish me luck with the TV. Caio!

Today was a bittersweet day - it would have been DH's 60th birthday. DD and I golfed at one of his favourite courses and then toasted him with a beer afterwards. The day was lovely and DD and I enjoyed it very much. The weather was fabulous - somewhere in the neighbourhood of 80 degrees. They didn't pair us with anyone so it was just us girls, very relaxing. The game was much better today and we managed to trim 10 to 15 strokes off each of our games.

Not much planned for tomorrow. The weather people say the temperature will be high 60's but we find that the temperature in Palm Springs is usually about 10 degrees higher than the temperature in LA at any given time. I'm looking forward to getting some pool time.

We had issues with the garage door on Monday. Appears it came off the rails and jammed up big time. The repair guy came by yesterday and just shook his head at the way it had been installed
in the first place. He was amazed that it had worked at all. He managed to get the door down for us but we're still waiting for it to be replaced. I'm really hoping that gets done some time this week because I will need to get into the garage to do my laundry. Worst case scenario, I guess I can wash some stuff by hand. That usually is not a pretty sight though!

Must run. Caio!

We're now in Palm Springs. We drove down to Bellingham Wednesday night and crossed over at Aldergrove. The border guard was very pleasant and didn't hassle us. It was a fast, pleasant and painless experience. Apparently we only look like terrorists and/or prostitutes in the light of day!

Weather in PS is good - still a little cooler because of the bad weather everyone is having up the coast but nothing to complain about. My youngest SIL is coming to stay with us for 2 weeks and arrives on Saturday. We enjoy her company and she and K get along famously so we're looking forward to her arrival. The other relatives will not be joining us this year so it's just the 3 gals - no boyz allowed! It should be fun!

We've been enjoying the peace and quiet - no stress and very relaxing. We spent the day in the pool Saturday and Sunday and golfed yesterday. The golf game was less than stellar but considering that this is our first round since this time last year, it could have been worse. We had a great time and that's all the matters.

I had computer issues again when we arrived - not sure why but never could get access through the house. I was not prepared to sneak out under cover of darkness again this year to find free wi-fi. I had visions of being pulled out of my car by the cops because I was acting suspicious. So.... We bought one of those Verizon stix, cost me a fortune but at least we have access when and where we want it. I'll have it the next time we venture south so I guess I can somewhat justify the extravagance. I bought 500 MB but am quite certain I will have to reload before mid month. Who knew we would use so much bandwith. I'm sure part of the heavy usage is Kerry's crazy Farm game....whatever!

We've been to the casino twice - just an hour or so each time - no need to get carried away and the marathon gambling visit is definitely not a good thing for either of us. I got lucky last night and won $500 on the slots! That was nice and, of course I enjoyed gambling when I was winning. And I cashed out while I still had my winnings. Bonus!!

Gotta run cuz the bandwith meter is definitely ticking :) Caio!

Things have been very hectic the last few weeks. My arthritis had been bad and became even worse in the last few weeks. I was in major pain last week and ended up at the Emergency department at our local hospital Sunday morning. The pain was quite different and I was convinced that I had broken a bone.

After a fairly long wait, they sent me for x-rays. The doc came back and informed me that I had "quite significant amount of arthritis" in that knee. He said it had really progressed since my last x-ray about a year ago. He prescribed me some arthritis meds to help with the pain and stop if from progressing, we hope He has also referred me for physio.

I'm not really all that surprised that I have arthritis as my dad has a serious case of it so I guess it's to be expected. In some ways I'm relieved that now I know what is causing the pain. I was also glad that I actually had something wrong with me as I was afraid they would tell me it was all in my head.

The count down is on for Palm Springs. Woooohooo! We finally hired someone to take over my old job and I'm busy training her. I'm also trying to deal with some of the backlog before I go so that she isn't totally stressed out at being left with all this work. Unfortunately it cannot be helped - the backlog is the result of the position being empty for 14 months and us never being able to catch up because we don't have enough staff. Anyway, I'm feeling much less stressed than I was a few days ago now that there will be someone in the office in my absence.

The sunshine, the pool, a good book and some adult bevvies are looking pretty good right now! Only 6 more sleeps!

I'm on course in Vancouver Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week. I take the WestCoast Express in - although I missed the first train this morning - and it's a nice trip. No fighting traffic, stressing out about finding a parking spot and so on. The course is good, the instructor interesting and entertaining, although the subject matter is a bit dry. My only issue is that I'm having a hard time sitting in those chairs all day.

Anyway end of day comes today and I walk out onto the sidewalk on Seymour Street for the 3 block walk back down to the train and I jar my bad knee. OUUUUUCCHHH! I thought I was going to go down on my ass right there in the middle of the sidewalk. I don't know what happened. The only thing I can think of is that the pavement was sloped and a little uneven. Iwas in serious pain and I limped my way back to the train and finally made it home. Not fun!

This is really not a big thing, however, my knee was just starting to get back to normal and now I've injured it again. Frustrating as hell! And I have the 3 block walk - uphill - to look forward to tomorrow morning. I think I might break down and wear my brace tomorrow altough I'm not entirely sure that it helps. Oh, well, such is life!

Must run to change and then put my leg up and ice my knee. Isn't that special?

Looking back over the last 20 months, I acknowledge that I've experienced a lot of change in my life. I've grown and evolved and my perspective on life has changed. Recently, I had an epiphany of sorts in both my professional and my personal life. It finally dawned on me that I am the master of my very own universe. I run my own show! I don't need to justify my actions or explain myself to anyone. It's glorious to realize that, acknowledge it and revel in it.

My life is good! I'm happy with it in spite of the loss I suffered. How ironic is that? I'm working at my dream job and I'm challenged and I'm learning daily. I'm invested in things that are important to me and I'm rebuilding my life. It feels good!

I'm a hopeless romantic and "Gone With The Wind" is one of my all-time favourite movies. Scarlett is the epitome of "southern gentility", albeit a scheming little minx, but southern gentility nonetheless. And Rhett? What can one say about Rhett? He's the symbol of chivalry and rogue, all wrapped up in one! The perfect hero for the perfect heroine. So for all the southern belles and southern gentlemen of whom I am so very fond, here's my tribute.

Can you believe that we're coming to the end of another year and the beginning of a new decade? Where has the time gone?

Christmas was lovely and New Years Eve will be quiet and spent at home. That works just fine for me as I'm getting too old to go out and party like a rock star! We'll watch the hockey game - Canucks vs St. Louis - GO CANUCKS! My daughter and I will have assorted appies, some liquid refreshments and a very quiet and comfortable evening.

Tomorrow friends are coming to share New Years Day dinner with us. I'm making my speciality which is Prime Rib of Beef, garlic mashed potatoes, asparagus and caesar salad. This is one of my all time favourite meals and it usually gets rave reviews. We'll drink some wine and kill a few brain cells and a good time will be had by all.

It has been an interesting year. We've had lots of challenges and learned to deal with things that my husband always dealt with but which now fall to us since his death. At one point I thought I might actually need to keep a plumber on retainer! Luckily we have friends who help us and I'm comfortable enough that I can pay someone when I need work done, so it's all good. However, it sure would be much better if I actually were to learn some routine maintenance skills. This may be something that I need to pursue in the new year!

Well must run . Best wishes to all of you for a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!

I had a lovely Christmas Day and have been lying around ever since. It's been a real treat to be able to just be lazy for a couple of days. I managed to get my studio cleaned up again and have been able to play a little. I actually did some work in my art journal and thought I'd share it with you.

Today was a very productive day! I finished up my christmas shopping a full 4 days before the big day. That means I'm done early. Now just need to do the wrapping and I can relax.

We don't have any big plans for this holiday. We're going to an open house on Christmas Eve but it should be an early night. Then home to open the gifts and have a wee drop of Christmas cheer. Christmas day will be just the two of us. We discussed it and felt that we wanted to relax and spend a quiet day - sleep in, whatever - so that's what we'll do.

We'll have all the traditional stuff, except for a turkey. We couldn't find one that was the right size and saw no need to purchase one of those monster turkeys that will feel a third world country. So instead we'll have a roasting chicken with all the trimmings. It will be quiet but it will be fine - we're together and we're healthy and that's really all that matters.

Still scrambling to get the last of my christmas cards out. The last few that are going out tomorrow for back east will probably not get there before Christmas - hence the greeting I've used is "Happy Holidays". Those cards been sent to local people should make it before Christmas so it's all good.

It's been just over a month since my last post. Who knew time would fly so quickly?

Life has been extremely busy. The new job is going well and I'm learning so much. I come home at night and my brain is exhausted! I've also assumed the duties of my payables clerk as she's deploying out of the unit at the end of the week. This is a huge job and sometimes I think I have got to be crazy to take this on! However, I've decided that this is how I want to handle this and I've received the support of the boss so it's all good. I feel that the decision I've made has been somewhat strategic and it's appropriate. I'm trying to make a statement here and to take control. I'm not sure that some among us will get that but it is what it is!

Christmas is just around the corner and I'm not even close to being ready. I have taken care of the relatives back east but have not even started to shop for DD. Luckily she's easy to buy for, I have a few ideas that might surprise her and I should be able to get it all done in an afternoon or an afternoon and an evening. DD is off on sick leave, recuperating from her carpel tunnel surgery, so she will be able to help me with some of the odds and sods.

Thought I'd share a new Christmas design with you. I'm very happy with how these turned out.

Caio!

I was going through my old messages and came across one a friend sent me about a year ago. Since I consider myself a force to be reckoned with (not sure if that's a good thing or not!) and a powerful woman, I thought this completely appropriate. I hope you get a chuckle out of it too!

Powerful Women's Motto:

Live your life in such a way that
when your feet hit the floor in the morning,
Satan shudders & says...
"Oh shit....she's awake!!"

Caio!

I've finally completed my tags for the Christmas Alphabet Tag swap being hosted on CST. I was pleased with the end result and the hostess is happy with what I sent so it's all good! Since I haven't posted any art for awhile, I thought I'd post the tags today but for some reason that's completely beyond me, the "upload" function doesn't seem to be working right now. I'll try back later. Frustrating!

I'm busily immersed in preparations for the second open house for Little Cricket in Langley BC. While I am prepared in that I've already come up with the designs, I'm still down to the wire with the production. It's always the same thing; I seem to function better under the pressure of having a tight deadline, or at least that's what I keep telling myself.

I like making Christmas cards, I really do. Getting ready for the open house always gets me in the mood for the upcoming Christmas season. I like to try out variations of the designs I've come up with and will finally decide which one I will make up for my family and friends. Once the production is complete for the open house, I can breathe a sigh of relief because then I can focus on creating stock and making my own little treasures.

I'm feeling a little out of sorts right now though. I have so much I want and need to do but just do not seem to have enough hours in the day to do them. I've procrastinated on making art which is really silly considering that I keep purchasing art supplies for these special projects. I now have enough to open a small store and still I keep buying! What's that all about?

I feel like I'm frozen in place and that I'm not able to do the creative work that I want to do. I have so many thoughts and ideas buzzing around in my head - unwritten poetry, planned but not initiated art journal pages, so many things I want to do. My house, on the other hand, seems to be getting fuller and fuller - stuff seems to be growing everywhere and I can't get motivated to do the tasks that need to be done. I keep telling myself that I'll do those things - eventually - but eventually doesn't ever seem to come.

Frustration reigns supreme ! I often feel overwhelmed and out of control. I'm very much a list girl so I think that may be the root of my issues. When I don't make a list and identify what I need to do, nothing get done. Hmmmm....

It's been more than a month since my last post - where does the time go?

The new job is keeping me extremely busy and when I come home at night I'm really, really tired. Many nights I'm in bed right after supper. I guess the old grey mare ain't what she used to be.

The weather has finally changed and it looks like we finally have fall here. It's cold and crisp in the mornings and evenings and still nice during the day. My impatience have finally gotten some frost and are looking a little the worse for wear but I guess that's to be expected considering it's almost the middle of October.

Thanksgiving was very quiet this year. DD is away in Ottawa and I've been working on cards for the store. Cooking for one person is the pits, so no turkey for me. Tonight I had pizza - not fancy but it works. DD is flying back home tomorrow so I'll be picking her up at the airport. She has had a lovely time visiting the relatives, but I'm sure she'll be happy to come back home to her own bed and her cats.

Well must run as I'm in the middle of a christmas card blitz and I can't afford to get side-tracked.

Caio!

Well, it looks like the summer is over and fall has arrived on the Coast. Today was an overcast day with a little wind and lots of cloud. It rained a little today, something we haven't had lately. It looked like a typical fall day and I expect that the heat will come on soon. It's nice for sleepy though as it gets cool enough that you actually need a blanket.

I'm preparing for the annual Christmas Open House at Little Cricket. This is a huge event and the numbers keep growing every year. I'm working on several new designs for this event and will be delivering them for approval next weekend. It's hard to believe that Christmas is less than 16 weeks away - where does the time go?

This is a busy time of year for me. I have the Christmas rush to prepare for and then it seems Christmas is hardly over and then the Valentine's rush is here. I must admit though that I do enjoy making Christmas cards. I make cards for re-sale as well as for my own use and this whole process gets me in the mood for Christmas.