SteinLines

The Rainbow in the Clouds

2008-07-21T05:30:00.000-07:00

Thursday one of my greatest fears came true: I pulled my back out helping Forrest. Fortunately I had just purchased a chair with electric lift for him earlier that same day, and a friend helped me recover the raised seat from the attic to put above the toilet. So basically Forrest was able to stand without my assistance while I was forced to lay on the coach on the heating pad and take relaxers, which left much time for catching up on my Cedar Cover books. Reading is a hobby I have not enjoyed since Junior High School but retirement has given me time to read again. BTW the back is much better.

Today I was to return to retina specialist to have my eye checked. Had an injection in it a month ago, which I do believe has helped my vision problem I've had since the retina surgery 1 1/2 years ago. Yeah!! That, too, has enabled me to read again.

Being able to read again has also brought Forrest's vision problems closer to my heart. He has been blind in his right eye about 10 years; his left eye's vision is quickly getting worse. We have appointment with retina specialist next week to look at optic nerve which is "not as bright as normal optic nerves" to quote the eye doctor. Forrest has always enjoyed reading but it is impossible for him to enjoy anymore.

And that brings me to today. I have postponed my eye appointment because Forrest is having a (typical) sick day. He won't be able to ride the van to dialysis, so I'll take him myself. No problem. Just reshifting some chores and appointments I planned to do today while he was dialyzing.

My prayers have always been simply to receive strength and wisdom from One more wise than me; my prayers have been abundantly answered throughout the years. I am blessed to have been able to retire early and remain comfortable during a time when many persons are worried about the economy. Retirement allows me to rearrange my schedule and care for Forrest. Yes, caring for Forrest is a cloud over my life, but there are so many rainbows coming out of that cloud.

2008-07-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

Here we go again

2008-06-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

Hmmm. So much for loyal blogging. Well, I did make my banner tonight on Photoshop Elements 4.0. Even downloaded some new brushes to use. When I retired I thought I would have time to really delve into Photoshop and move toward more hybrid scapbooking. Didn't do it. Not that I didn't have time. I just didn't do it. But it's not too late. My banner is my start. Good start, girl! I'm going to put excelling at Photoshop on my Bucket List.

2008-01-13T01:36:00.000-08:00

My inspiration for this Valentine tag comes from Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas series on his blog. I'm hoping to do my own 12 Tags of 2008 using ideas from Tim's Tag series.

(Don't know why the second pic isn't transparent...I'll work on that some more.)

2008-01-05T15:09:00.000-08:00

These are two cards I made at a Stampin' Up party today. Love the Embrace Life card; will think seriously about purchasing that set this year. And the elephant is so cute!

I'm going to be posting the cards I make this year, particularly the ones I create myself. My goal is to think outside the box more, so I want to track my progress through the year; blogging may keep me accountable.

Christmas Card 2007

2008-01-04T08:18:00.001-08:00

Inside: Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas time. -Laura Ingalls Wilder

I created this card using two photos from my Baby Album.

The top picture (1953) is of my brother, my dad, and I by my dad's Lionel train display he put up every year. I'm holding my new Tiny Tears and my brother is holding his new remote-control helicopter.

The bottom picture is my mother, my brother, and me trimming the life Christmas tree (1952).

January Card Shark card

2008-01-04T07:32:00.000-08:00

Inside: Friends are life's fringe benefits.

This was an easy card to make, and I felt it welcomed in the New Year in a festive mood.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! now let's get blogging.

2008-01-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

OK, now it's time to blog. I've looked around and been inspired by others, I've set up my blog on QMB2 (although it appears somewhat different than what I am hoping to do here; we shall see).

My first inspiration for today is to finish what I started last week, and that is making my cards for my Card Shark exchange. I'll be back in a few with a picture of my creation. Chou for now!

Well, so much for trying

2007-12-30T17:39:00.001-08:00

2007 is about to end, and I have thought about blogging all year, but you can see how far I got! I'm really going to try to get blogging in the next day or two. Now this could be a New Year's Resolution I can keep!

Things have changed since last January. Oh, boy, have they changed. The beginning of 2007 found my husband in a crisis health situation. I was teaching - love teaching! - but so stressed with working and being DHs caregiver. Even with sitters, it was a rough row to how! So early in May I took a giant step. I took Family Medical Leave and never looked back. This fall I have officially retired after 29 years of teaching. DH is doing better, although still needing 24/7 care. But my stress level is much lower, I'm enjoying being home with him, and I'm starting to adjust to more time for me. I say adjust because after many years of working, caregiving, and being wornout, there wasn't a lot of time for me.

I've recently cleaned out and "organized" the craft room, so maybe 2008 will be my "Year of the Blog" and sharing my creations.

Scrapbooks and Cards

2006-05-28T05:33:00.000-07:00

I love to scrapbook. I am currently redoing my son's album. Since he is now 31, the pictures I took of him as a baby are not necessarily how I would have taken photos now that I scrapbook. So I am making a "topic" book instead of chronilogical. I am also using a BayBox so I don't have to worry about not having enough photos to fill a page. I can embellish parts of the page or add quotations and sentiments.

If anyone has used a BayBox I would love to hear from you and see some of your layouts.

Another scrapbook I work on continuously is my Red Hat scrapbook. More about my Red Hatting in a later blog.

This summer I am going to begin working on a scrapbook of my late father's pictures from the 20s, 30s, and 40s, including WWII. I'm looking forward to that. And then I will redo my album which my mother kept until I graduated from high school. Needless to say the pages are tearing, the pictures are falling out, and the colored pictures (the second half the book!) are fading. I must rescue these quickly.

First Blog Post

2006-05-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

Well, I had to do it sometime. Don't know much about Bogging - just enough to be dangerous!! We'll see how this goes.