I can't even begin to list the number and kinds of animals I've had in my life, but there has always been a cat. I love cats. I got my first one when I was about 4 and never went long without one since. My first published painting book was on cats. Besides Boo and Jake, I also have 10 barn cats in the horse stable. All of them were born here and range in age from 7 months to 10 years. Yes, they all have names and are almost as spoiled as Boo -- heated houses, water dishes, and breakfast delivered at 8:00 each morning. All of them get pet or held daily. In return, they keep rabbits out of my garden. And, no mouse in his right mind would dare step into that building :)
December 31, 2023
January 2024 Blog Train and Fan Freebie
November 30, 2023
December 2023 Blog Train and Fan Freebie
Oh boy! It's almost Christmas . . . again! Take lots of pictures to scrap and preserve your memories. Time keeps moving forward even when you wish it would just slow down for certain times throughout the year. Pictures help not just to document the moment, but gives you something to savor and enjoy months, sometimes years, down the road.
Fan Freebie --
The Boo Update --
October 31, 2023
November 2023 Blog Train and Fan Freebie
I have to admit . . . this month's color scheme didn't speak to me. Usually I can look at the colors and know exactly what I want to do with them. So, I looked at the theme suggestions -- kitchen and boho. Kitchen was out because I try to spend as little time as possible in the kitchen these days. Ok...so let's go with "boho". Hmmm....what exactly is boho? After googling boho and looking at the many examples that came up, I saw that boho was somewhere between cashless college student of the 60's and "whatever goes" after that. I just shake my head. But, I have to admit, it was interesting to find that I can still create and even have fun while working on it even though it all still boggles my mind. (That's probably pretty close to what my Mom thought of my sense of style growing up in the 60's with our bell bottoms and mini skirts. But, hey . . . we were so cool~! Enough said.)
Fan Freebie --
The Boo Update --
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
May your turkey be tender and your pumpkin pie perfect.
September 30, 2023
October 2023 Blog Train and Fan Freebie
I like Fall. We still have warm days, but not as hot as the summer months were. And, we're finally getting some much needed rain.
I loved the colors for the blog train this month. Perfect for pumpkin patch pictures. (Try saying "pumpkin patch pictures" 10 times real fast!!) Hahahaa...
Fan Freebie --
The Boo Update --
August 31, 2023
September 2023 Blog Train and Fan Freebie
September is here and kids are heading back to school again. I took two of my granddaughters clothes shopping a couple weeks ago. We had such a good time! We laughed when things didn't fit. Ooo'ed and awww'ed when they did. It was so much fun spending a day with those two.
I also wanted to thank everyone for their nice comments here and on my facebook page. I really appreciate it.
Fan Freebie --
The Boo Update --
July 31, 2023
August 2023 Blog Train and Fan Freebie
Winter was a bear, so I was really looking forward to this summer. Now, I can't wait for it to be over. I had to pull all the horses off their pastures and feed hay. Good thing we brought in an extra trailer of hay last fall. The downpour we finally got this morning is promising, but we'll see. It's supposed to be in the high 90s for the rest of the week, so we'll be filling water troughs more than once a day. You can tell I'm a country girl. My horses mean everything to me. My stable is my happy place. And, weather is everything around here. It's the first thing I check in the morning and the last thing I check at night so I know what we'll be up against the following day. Would 72 and a little rain each day be asking for too much?
Fan Freebie --
The Boo Update
June 30, 2023
July 2023 Blog Train and Fan Freebie
Although I used to live in Southern California, spent time on the beaches in South Carolina and Florida, it's a very rare day if I go more than ankle deep into the water. But, I do love walking for miles on the beach with sand under my toes and the sun on my back. Salt water just isn't my thing. Truth be told, my favorite view is my horses in their pastures everyday and watching them run toward me when it's time to move into their corrals for the night for brush downs and treats.
By the way, last month I forgot to add the papers to the June Fan Freebie. Oops! They are available in the post below.
Fan Freebie --
The Boo Update --
June 8, 2023
Missing Fan Freebie Papers
Oops!! This is what happens when I have too many irons in the fire! I fondly call it the "Month of May". Yes, indeed, I forgot to add the papers to the June Fan Freebie kit in the next post down. You can download them HERE
May 31, 2023
June 2023 Blog Train and Fan Freebie
I love June. Spring roundup is over. The horses are on pasture grass once again and off hay. All the new perennials are in the ground and growing. And new baby kittens are in the stables somewhere. A few more weeks and their moms will bring them out of their hiding spot to meet me.
I know a lot of you will be traveling this summer, so how about a little "Road Trip". The best vacations I ever had were driving "blue highways". You know, those little blue lines on a map that go places where freeways don't exist. Sure, it takes longer, but there are so many interesting people to meet, places and things to see along the way. Have fun this summer and drive safe out there!
Fan Freebie --
The Boo Update --
April 30, 2023
May 2023 Blog Train and Fan Freebie
In my family, we have at least one birthday in each month of the year except for February and September, so basically, we celebrate "something" every month. Valentine's Day in February and Back to School in September. I no longer have children living at home, BUT it's really less hectic shopping when other people's children are back in school :)
Fan Freebie --
The Boo Update --
March 31, 2023
April 2023 Blog Train and Fan Freebie
I had to stop by the feed store to pick up grain for the horses a few weeks ago. It should have only taken maybe a half hour, BUT . . . their baby chicks had arrived! All different kinds of them. Soooo cute! A couple hours later when I finally pulled myself away from them and headed back to the ranch, I thought about where I could keep chickens and how to protect them from predators. I used to have chickens and dearly loved them. They're sweet and actually like any other pet if you spend time with them. One time, it was the middle of winter and I went out to take care of all the animals. Well . . . this Pollack chicken had gotten herself caught between two posts. I got her out simply by lifting her up where the posts spread wider, but it didn't seem like she could stand on her feet. I thought they might have gotten frozen. If you knew me well, you'd know exactly what I did next. I took the chicken into the house, put her in the bathroom off from the kitchen and turned on the heat lamps. I made sure she could reach her food and water without having to move much. When my husband came home from work, he took one whiff and asked if we were having chicken!! I told him "no, but check out the "rehab center" in the bathroom". To make the story short, a couple days later, I came downstairs in the morning to make breakfast for the kids and found my chicken pecking on Benny's food on the kitchen floor. Benny was my parrot and that silly bird was clutching food in one foot and tossing it through the bars of his cage onto the floor for the chicken. He'd make a laughing noise and then throw out more. It was the funniest thing I think I have ever seen!
Fan Freebie --
The Boo Update --
February 28, 2023
March 2023 Blog Train and Fan Freebie
I was just going to head into my studio to get some work done and all of a sudden I realized that tomorrow is March 1 and I hadn't posted the new blog train yet! Geez!! I guess I'm not as proficient at multitasking as I used to be! Lately, every time I think I'm getting ahead, I find myself running to catch up. I definitely have too many irons in the fire at the moment, but it's mostly of my own doing. I decided to take Spanish lessons AND piano lessons on top of everything else I'm doing. I figured that if I don't do them now, when am I going to, right?
Fan Freebie --
The Boo Update --
January 31, 2023
February 2023 Blog Train and Fan Freebie
During our last big snowstorm, I started my annual flower shopping at BluestonePerennials.com. I gave most of my plants by the berry patch to my daughter last year knowing they would all look better in her garden. So I have 3 box garden beds to fill this year. My husband is sure I did that on purpose so that I could try out all the new varieties of plants that I've been looking at. "Uh-huh...so what's your point?" I said. He's a smart man. He left me alone while I was adding things to my wishlist.
With everything white and cold outside, the greens and browns in this palette just warmed my heart. Kind of like buying garden flowers in the middle of winter :) I love doodle flowers, too. They can be colored any color that fits my kit theme and are the perfect touches to digital scrapbooking pages. The graffiti shown in this kit are actually in the Fan Freebie kit below, so be sure to download both.