January 2025 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

Happy New Year!  Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's Eve.  I rarely stay up to usher in a New Year.  My mornings start way too early as it is.  I have a stable full of hungry animals to take care of each morning, and that includes holidays as well.  

I started thinking about my kids when I was working on this Blog Train.  The year we moved from Southern California up to the Minnesota/Canadian border was memorable.  My kids had never seen snow except in movies and Christmas cards.  We moved in the summer so we could all have time to adapt to the weather change.  The first day it snowed, they ran outside without shoes and discovered it was COLD !!  But, they adapted over time, and found that winter was actually kind of fun.  They learned how to skate, ski and snowmobile, and were somewhat disappointed when the snow started melting each spring.  Good memories.  But, I have to admit that I like Southern Wisconsin better.  We still have snow, but it's always at least 30 degrees warmer here than up there and a whole lot less snow.

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Fan Freebie --

Oh, yes.  There's another memory here.  My brother used to pull me on a sled over to the ice skating pond to teach me how to skate.  We had so much fun.  Being the youngest in the family had its benefits. Good memories.  

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The Boo Update --

There is something about my black kitty slippers that attracts Boo to my feet when I wear them.  He wraps his front legs around my foot and starts rabbit-kicking with his back legs.  I'm not sure if he's trying to get those slippers off my feet or kill them.  In either case, he never ceases to entertain me.

See you next month!

December 2024 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

Another year is almost over.  I had so much going on all year, time just flew by.  Thank you everyone for your comments each month.  I really appreciate them.  They're like reading letters from best friends.

My favorite thing about this time of year is snowmen.  In my book, snow isn't much good for anything except for building snowmen.  I built and painted tall ones out of wood to stand by my front door.  That way, I didn't have to take them down until things warmed up and the snow started melting.  Who wants to take down Christmas decorations when it's below zero outside, right?

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Fan Freebie --

I am fascinated by penguins.  I've read about them, watched documentaries, drew them and painted them.  And, yes, there are a fair number of them hanging on my Christmas tree.  All smiles, of course.  They're kind of like potato chips and horses.  You can never have just one :)  

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The Boo Update --

Boo's photos are so much fun to add a few scrapbooking elements to his pictures for the holidays.  Believe me -- If I tried to put a hat on him for real, my hands would be all bandaged up.  I think he truly loves Christmas.  All the decorations are fun to look at, but he really loves the tree.  It's such a wonderful spot to take morning naps, and afternoon naps and naps in the evening.  He probably sleeps under the tree at night, too.  He usually claims the tree as his before I even finish decorating it.  I love this cat!

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!  See you next year!

November 2024 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

Where did October go?  I can't believe it's November already!  We just wrapped up fall roundup a couple weeks ago, a bit later than most years.  But, the weather had been nice, so why rush it.  My horses weren't complaining :)   The fall leaves are just so beautiful this year, so I decided to go in that direction with this blog train. 

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Fan Freebie --

I used the same color palette to create these, so you can combine the two kits into beautiful scrapbook pages.  Have fun!

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The Boo Update --

You know . . . most cats will find a quiet corner somewhere to take a nap, someplace where they won't be disturbed.  Not Boo.  I found him like this sleeping in the middle of the living room one afternoon.  This cat is not normal :)  

See you in December . . .

October 2024 Blog Train and Fan Freebie

The greenhouse a few miles down the road from here have harvested their pumpkins and have them decoratively arranged around their property so people can take their children there to take Fall or Halloween pictures and pick up a pumpkin or two to take home.  Free donuts on Fridays, too!  I like Halloween.  It's just a sweet holiday and my grandkids have so much fun with all the different activities.  For just one day, they can get all dressed up in their costume and be someone or something else.  It's fun.  When I was designing for tole and decorative painters, Halloween was as popular as Christmas.  And, I have to admit, I have a thing for witches.  Ghosts and goblins, not so much.  Throughout my 30+ years of designing, everything has been upbeat and happy.  Everything smiles :) 

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Fan Freebie --

Bats, more pumpkins, a black cat (of course!!) and a funny little witch flying through the sky.  I'll bet flying on a broom would be a gas!!

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The Boo Update --

It's Boo's 6th birthday!  The picture on the left is Boo when he was just a few months old.  He was so tiny -- just 1/4 of an ounce when I brought him into the house from my horse barn at just 3 weeks old.  The picture on the right, of course, is today.  I have spent every day with him and still can't believe how big he has grown! 

See you back here next month!