Remember Me???

Surprise, surprise!  Remember me?  Sorry to be such a bad blogger but the summer has been like a whirlwind!   I was in Hawaii for 3 weeks which I think was the last time I blogged anything!  The visit to Hawaii was a lot of fun.  I went there to help Ashley with the move back stateside.  The day that the movers came to box up her things was terrible.   The packers were supposed to come one day and then the crew to load up the crates was supposed to come the next day.  Well, the packers came and packed up a couple of rooms before saying they had to leave for another job.  The next day they didn't show up until noon after several phone calls from Ashley to the moving company.  At 7:30 at night, they still hadn't done a thing in the kitchen!  We were pretty mad to say the least!  They finally finished around 11 pm.  We got to the hotel in Waikiki a little past midnight!  We stayed in the hotel about 10 days.  I was so thankful that Ashley's condo was on the other side of the island because the Waikiki side is LOUD!

I had a couple of mishaps while I was there this time.  First, I almost missed my flight!  I was sitting in the AMEX Lounge at DFW airport enjoying my breakfast when I got a call on my cell phone from American Airlines wanting to know where I was.  The plane was in it's final boarding and the doors were going to be closing in 3 minutes.  I took off running and luckily was able to get on one of the golf cards and he got me to the gate in time.  I think I had set my watch wrong and thought I had plenty of time.  A lesson learned - always put your cell phone number on your reservation!!

The next mishap was at the end of our trip.  We were at the beach enjoying the sunshine.  Well, the waves on that side of the island are a lot stronger than on the windward side which is what I was used to.  As I was getting into the ocean a huge wave knocked me backwards.  I could barely get back up or walk.  I thought I had pulled my hamstring because I hurt from my butt all the way down my leg.  Our flight was three days later and I drank several margaritas that day to combat the pain of sitting on the airplane for 6 hours (Phoenix) and another 4 hours to Charlotte.  When I got home, I went to the doctor.  By that time, the bruising had started and she told me just take some Tylenol for the pain.  By the end of the week, I was bruised from my waist to my knee and I was carrying a pillow around to sit on.  Since then I have heard about a man from Raleigh died when a wave knocked him backwards and he hit his head PLUS a retired Charlotte police officer who broke his neck in July at the beach when a wave drove him into the sand.  He will recover but had to have screws in his head to hold a heavy duty cervical collar in place for several months.  Guess I was the lucky one!

My bruising - after 2 weeks!

Ashley was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in a ceremony while I was there.  It was presented to her by the Hospital Commander, COL Mary Krueger.

The rest of my summer has been uneventful!  I have been doing water aerobics every morning at our subdivision's pool and it has really helped my normal aches and pains.  My mother turned 91 last week and is doing pretty good for a woman her age who is legally blind and has lost her hearing in one ear.  Ashley came for a visit in early July to get her cat, Bogart.  We flew Bogart to Charlotte while I was in Hawaii and Sonny took care of him until I got home.  Ashley closed on her house in Silver Springs on July 15 and has been "living" in her house on an air mattress when she isn't staying with her girlfriends in the DC area.  Her household goods are supposed to be delivered next Monday (8/5) so hope this side of the move goes better than the other side did!  Sonny and I are driving up to Maryland Saturday to help with the unpacking.  We will have Sonny's truck filled to the brim with furniture she is taking from family here plus a piece she bought while she was here in July.

I really have not done much stamping this summer except on my Paper Pumpkin kits.  I wasn't so sure about the In Colors this time but since I've been using them this week, I have changed my mind.  My favorite (I think) is Pretty Peacock but I also love the Terracotta  Tile and Rococo Rose!  I made a couple of cards with the Young At Heart set - it's a really good one for us "old timers!"

If you are thinking about what to order from the annual catalog, take a look at the Pressed Petals Washi Tape.  It is something you would overlook in the catalog which is what I did and then I saw it being used and Wow!  It is really pretty.  You just pull the individual petals off the roll and create your own beautiful flower.  Just do a search and you will see lots of different projects using this washi tape.