More updates

Well here it is a week after my surgery. I am pain free in my left arm and my lower back and left leg. My left thumb still has a tingle in it. But it reminds me to take it easy.
Last Monday was a nasty weather day around here and we had to travel a ways to get to the hospital. But we made it and DH made it back home. I spent the night in the hospital. They booted me out at 10 the next morning. I wasn't sure I was ready to go but they pushed me out the door. I spent the rest of the day on the couch as well as the next day. On Thursday DH had scheduled a big surgery at the vet office that I had to go and help with. I wasn't happy about it but I did go and that surgery was successful. I went home and crashed in the afternoon.
On Friday I check in at the vet office and then to the store. Kathy H. a friend of many years was helping out. I did a couple of things around the store and headed home to the couch. You'll be seeing her now and again around the shop.
My mom is now home from the hospital as well. Her surgery was successful as well.
Thank you for all of the well wishes and cards.
I am doing pretty good.

Updates

Things have been happening at the Artfull Hand.

Linda' s mom did pass away last Friday. The poor lady was in a lot of pain so now she is at peace. My mom's surgery was reschedule to tomorrow. My surgery is schedule for the 15th.

Last night was our annual holiday get together. Every one brought a snack and a $5 gift. We had a very pleasant evening of Christmas Trivia and rob your neighbor. (Funny name of a game to be playing at a Christmas party).

The Artfull Hand Holiday Open House will be this Friday and Saturday.

On Friday I will be doing the Pointsettia flower $3 and Carol will be leading a free make 'n take. Then on Saturday Linda will be doing her moonlight card $2.50.

Back again

Well I finally got to talk to my doctor. I do have the ruptured disc at L5/S1 again. He told me that I was one of the lucky 8% that have a re-occurrence. Why can't I be that lucky playing the lottery? In addition to that I also have a ruptured disc at C5/6!!! Damn! the good luck!! He asked whether I wanted to do one at a time or do both discs at the same surgery.... Well duh! It's gonna be both at the same time. They have to schedule the surgery but we are looking at the week of the 15th... With a little more luck I should be pretty well on the recovery road by Christmas.
Unfortunately that slows things down at the shop.
I will try my best to get some classes put together. I have one project that is ready to go but will have to find a substitute to lead it.
Linda's mom is not doing at all well. They have brought in hospice so it is just a matter of time for the poor lady. Jane's mom is faring a bit better. She has been able to get rid of the excess water with the new meds. My mom is just waiting for the 9th of December to roll around. That is her surgery date. The long range weather forecast is sounding iffy. But I'm not letting that worry me.Most of the time they can't get a 6 hour forecast right.

December

Where did the rest of November go???
There is so much "stuff" going on with the people associated with the shop and myself.... I haven't had the time to complete the December newsletter. We have a few things happening early in the month. The major reason that I am late is that I have been having back and neck problems again. Yesterday I had a lumbar and cervical myleogram. Let me tell you that is loads of fun. But it wasn't as horrible as I had imagined it...I survived to tell about it. I haven't yet talked to my doctor about the results. I am waiting to hear from him before I committ to too much stuff at the shop...
I feel like the Christmas tree in the above picture. You can actually buy this tree for $600!
As soon as I have more information for you on what's happening and when in the shop. I will post it....But you don't have to wait for me to do something. Come in anyway and visit with us.

Gas Prices

I had a very pleasant experience this morning. I filled my gas tank which was reading only 1/4 full for under $20!!! My word was that nice. I believe I heard on the news that the last time gas has been under $2 a gallon was 3 years ago. The price is $1.44/gallon FYI.
Which is good for the shop because I have been seeing an increase in St. Louis customers. Thank you ladies...
Today is my 3 for $5 at 1:30 sorry I don't have any pictures. I just haven't had the time to do small details like that.
Yesterday I went and saw the doctor who operated on my back last year. He has ordered a myelogram. I can't have MRIs. I don't know when that will be. I call on Monday to find out. Then on Thursday I went with my mom to her surgeon who will be biopsy-ing the lymph nodes in her chest on Dec 9th. The funny thing is at that appointment my mom said maybe we can get in the same room. I told her no way. Well there is a way. My doctor has privileges at the hospital where she will have her biopsy. Oh my! The two of us in the same room recovering. That would be a hoot.

November 19th

How did it get to be November 19th all ready? Where did the days go?
Last week-end was Deer widows Week-end at the shop. We had a small turn out but a fun one. I actually created some Christmas Cards and started working on my ATCs for the swap in December. My DH got two deer. We processed them this morning at Ric's and Sue's. My back is killing me now even after my Vicodin. I see the back surgeon on Friday. I am hoping that he will agree that I need another surgery. My Dh asked me the other day what I wanted for Christmas. I told him back surgery.
Jane will be filling in for Sally tomorrow at the 3 for $5. Sally called in sick. Jane's, Linda's and my mother all have life threatening health issues at the moment. My word I certainly don't need the stress.

November Newsletter

The Artfull Hand November Newsletter
November 1st ATC Swap 12:30 Theme: Games
November 7th- Make Christmas Cards for troops overseas- All Day.
I supply the materials and the postage. You supply your creativity.
November 8th Make and Take- Stamping on Candles-
$1 for small Candle and $2 for large Candle 11-3
November 10th- Stamp Club 7 PM $1
November 11th- Bev 3 for $5- 7pm Please RSVP
November 13th Jane 3 for $5 10:30 & 1:30
November 15th Deer Widows Week-end
5pm to 9pm $5 for 1 day $8 for both days
November 16th Deer Widows week-end continues
11 am – 4 pm games & prizes
During the week-end I supply drinks, use of the classroom and the supplies in the back. You must pre-register and pay to save a spot for you.
You bring one snack for everyone to share and what ever project(s) that you are currently working on.
November 17th Linda 3 for $5 10:30 & 1:30
November 20th Sally 3 for $5 10:30 & 1:30
November 22nd Dorothy 3 for $5 1:30 Only
November 24th Linda Domino Necklace $15 1:00
November 26th Day Stamp Club 10:30 & 1:30 $1
November 27th Thanksgiving- Closed
November 28th Make Christmas Cards for troops overseas
All day
The winners of the Halloween Card contest were Lana Rose, Karen Sprick and Cindy Barrow. Sorry I didn't get those images up on the website. There has been so much going on in my life lately that I can't keep up. Congratulations Ladies.

Halloween Card Contest

And the winner is........................

Front

inside

Lana Rose

She did a great job on the window shaker card. And just today my new shipment of these windows came in... I'm pretty well stocked up on them I hope for at least a while.....

finally circle closes

The 8 hour drive from Charleston, West Virgina was uneventfull. Not quite as pretty the further into the Mid West we got. The trees were past their color prime. But we had good weather, a bit cool but okay for the last part of October.

We arrive at my house about 5 :45. We all were tired of being cooped up in the truck. Everyone was happy to get out and stretch our legs.

Friday was Halloween and Sarah had brought along the cutest little outfit for James to trick or treat in.

.

It was a Pooh Honey Bee costume. He wasn't too happy about wearing because on Friday it had gotten to 80 degrees. On Tuesday it was so cool that we went to Target to buy him a warm hat. Well that is the weather in the mid-west.

On Saturday we had a birthday party for him at El Ranchito in New Haven. He did very well considering there were 14 people in attendance all of them adults, no kids.

He really got into eating his cake....

On Sunday they took off and drove up to Nebraska for a family visit there.

They'll be back here next Friday, spend a day and then take off driving home to NC.

circling

My friend picked me up and took me to her house. We had a very nice visit. The next morning she returned me to the airport. I had to wait in line to check in. Finally my turn came. I gave the ticket and my ID to the agent. He looked things over and handed me back my ID. His fingers were flying across his keyboard but there was a confused look crossing his face. He asked where was I going? Jacksonville, NC was the answer. He asked to see my ID again. He looked at it and then at me, looked at it and then at me again. When he finally spoke he said that Delta had decided to put me on a plane for Lima, Peru!!!! Nope ! I don't want to go that far South...Jacksonville, NC will be fine for me....thank you very much. He corrected the error and sent me on my way-- finally. After that the rest of the trip went off without a hitch. My DIL picked me up and I had a very fun afternoon of playing with my grandson.
We started driving back to Missouri the next morning after feeding the baby and packing the last minute items. It was 8 hours of driving to get to Charleston, West Virgina. But the scenery was beautiful. The trees were at their color peak. We stopped at a place where we were able to get adjoining rooms. We put the baby down in the other room after his supper and a bath. DIL , Bull the dog and I settled in for the night. I slept pretty well. But poor DIL had to move to the other room during the night and christen me with a new nick name, Freight Train Grandma! I snore just a little bit.

continuing circles

Well the re-routing was 2 meal vouchers and a motel voucher for one night at a local motel 6. Ggeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. There were several very angry people at gate D24. Some elected to try to get on later flights going to Wilmington, NC. That is an hour drive from Jacksonville. Others accepted the vouchers and dealt with the delay. I had an ace in the hole.....I have friends that live just outside Atlanta. DIL called them for me as my phone had run out of minutes. (I use one of those pay as you go phones) I remembered to charge it before I left but forget to check the minutes... I had about an hour and half wait for my friend to come and pick me up. So I went in search of a place to use one of the meal vouchers. Preferably one that was a sit down eatery that offered adult beverages. I had been up since 5 am CDT and it was now going on 6 pm EDT. Also I wanted to look for a phone card.
As I walked(my back killing me all the way) along D concourse in the Atlanta Airport I scanned every kiosk and store front to see if they sold phone cards. I went into a vareity store and asked them if they knew of a place. The young man was helpful and said "Oh yes, down around gate 34 there is a machine that sells them. Well I had just come from that direction and I was in the area of Gate 20. So I turned around and walked back the way I had just come. When I got in the neighborhood of gate 34 there was no such machine. I went into a newstand and asked if they sold phone cards or knew of a place on this concourse. They said that they did not sell the cards but thought a place did over on 'C' concourse....Oh great....SOooooooo I turned around and walked back by all the gates and travelers that I had just passed. I made my way back down to the train system that is in the basement of the airport. I wasn't walking over to 'C' concourse. It was a short train ride and I walked up to the concourse renewing my search for a phone card. When I popped up on the concourse the escalator deposited me on the door step of an electronics store. I scanned all the offerings hanging on the wall behind the sales person. I didn't see any cards. The salesman asked what was I looking for and I told him a phone card for my phone. He said that there was a vending machine right around the corner from his shop. Great! I went around the corner and indeed there was a machine. But it sold regular old phone cards. The kind that you use on a regular phone. Well I needed to make phone calls so I bought one.
Next on the agenda was to search for something to eat and drink. I check the directory and the only thing that was going to fit my requirements on this concourse was Sam Adams Brew House. Of course it was at the far end of the concourse.
I finally waddled into the Airport version of a brew house and found a table. The waitress handed me a menu. Egads! There was nothing on the menu under 10 bucks. One meal voucher was only for $7. I sure didn't want to use both of them on one meal. I finally spotted a hot dog for $3. Okay got the food picked out. Since I was in a 'brew house' I ordered their dark ale. The hot dog was lousy but the beer was good. I was able to take a pain pill. The waitress brought the bill. The total was $11.01. What the ...??? How could that be? Hot dog $3..check. Beer...$7!!!! Holy Crap!
I handed over a some dollars and the voucher. And then headed for the front door to meet my friend....

Still going in circles

Last Friday I flew out of St. Louis headed to N. Carolina. As usual I had a lay over in Atlanta. The second leg of the trip was to be just a short hop to Jacksonville, N.C. It turned into a 24 hour ordeal.
When I flew in to Atlanta it was foggy and misting rain. As anyone knows who has travel through the Atlanta airport - any kind of weather- slows or even shuts down that airport. Well I wasn't surprised when my flight showed a delay on the departure board. I wasn't flustered- yet. Another delayed showed up- ok, this time I was annoyed, but still not flustered. A third delay appeared. Now flustered entered the picture. I called my DIL for the third time and told her. I also said the weather was looking worse and I wouldn't be surprised if the airport shut down. Well it does gets worse.
To my surprise the plane I was to leave on arrived at the designated gate. Things were looking up or so I thought. The passengers deplaned. Just a few minutes to straighten up the plane and I was sure that we would board. And we did! Hurray I was finally on my way... I called my DIL and told her that I was on the plane and that departure was imminent. We sat there a while longer and sat. I could hear the high pitch whine of the engines and then all of a sudden- nothing. The plane had had a power failure--thankfully AT THE GATE! The pilot came on the loud speaker and announced that a mechanic was on the way to fix the problem. Oh yaaaAaa, I thought. How are you going to fix no power???
There were several attempts at it. The engines would rive up and then die. I was thinking to myself I hope they don't 'fix' the problem. I really didn't want to be in the air in that crate. It wasn't long and the pilot announced "well folks, this bird isn't flying anywhere today." With that we all de-planed. Back in the gate area the announcement was that they were going to find us another plane. Another phone call to my DIL to update my predicament. Shortly,another announcement was made saying that Flight #1580 to Jacksonville, NC was cancelled. Please proceed to Gate D24 for re-routing.....

Going in circles

I feel like I am going in circles. I've traveled a lot of miles and really haven't accomplished much.
Thank goodness for the girls at the shop. They have stepped up and filled in for me.
My mom is still seeing doctors trying to find out what the best course for her is. My DH's mom had hip replacement surgery earlier in the week. She had some complications and needed transfusions. So we have been on the run with her too.
I'm trying to formulate November's calendar. We've got some stuff planned but need to fill out the month.
Today an order from Dandelion Designs came in and we'v got some new really cute stamps for Christmas.
Last Friday the Stampendous order came in and there were Christmas stamps in that order as well.
Can you believe Halloween is almost here????
Check out the home page photo on my web site. http://www.theartfullhand.com/. We do have fun in the shop at times....(The home page picture changes freguently so the image I am refering to is no longer up.)

Autumn

This is the doll that I made in an Icon Doll on-line class. Her name is Autumn. Had the class been held at a different time of year I suppose she would have turned out differently. The frame around her face is made from aluminum soda cans!!!!

my 3 for $5

I am going to have to cancel my 3 for $5 on the 21st of this month. That is the day I go with my mother to find out the results of her tests and the recommendations from the doctor. By the time I drive to her house and back again(an hour each way) I will be too tired to do the evening session.
I only had two cards made up. Had an idea for a third but just haven't had the time to develop it. If you know of anyone who was interested in coming please let them know that it has been cancelled.

what a week and it is only Wednesday!

The week started out with DH and a hospital procedure. Everything turned out okay with him but both of us were totally wasted for a good day and half...
The used stamp sale continued into Monday so that was going on too. Then there was stamp club Monday night..... I was just too tired to stay for the whole thing. Linda was leading it. What I saw, everyone was doing a great job and their stencil washes were turning out great.
On Tuesday I went to a doctor appointment with my 82 year old mother. News was not good. She is in for some more tests this week and then we go back to see the same doctor next Tuesday for the results of those.
While I was with my mother, Linda had to call 911 for one of the store's customers. She thought she was having a heart attack. The ambulance came and did take her to the hospital. Later in the day one of her relatives stop by to pick up the car. They said she was still undergoing testing. We still haven't heard the outcome.

Used Stamp Sale

I want to remind you all that the Used Stamp Sale is this coming Saturday the Eleventh. The door will open at 10 am and we will go until 5 pm. Depending on how much stuff is left over we may offer it up again next Monday the 13th. There is other art related stuff in the piles so it is not just stamps..... Come by and search for a bargain.....

Kimono

This is one of Linda's cards she is doing today. She has such a good sense of design....The kimono is just beautiful. What you probably can't see is that it is stamped on embossed paper. So when viewed in person there is texture under the flower design.

Can you believe that we are into fall all ready? This card reminds me of Spring. Once the snow starts to fall I am going to have to look at this card to remind myself that Spring will come again.

October Newsletter

The Artfull Hand
October 2008 Newsletter
We start off the month with my Birthday…… Hurray I like having two birthdays in a year, the store’s birthday in August and then my personal one in October.
October 4 ~~ ATC Swap 12:30 Theme: Monsters
October 6 ~~ Last day to drop off items for used Sale
October 7 Linda’s 3 for $5 10:30 & 1:30
October 8 Linda’s 3 for $5 7 Pm RSVP PLEASE
October 9 ~~ Halloween Shaker card class $10 1:30
October 11 ~~ USED STAMP SALE **All Day**
October 13 ~~ Used stamp Sale MAY continue today
Evening Stamp Club 7 Pm $1
October 17 ~~ Embossing Paste & Stencils 10:30 $5
October 18 ~~ Halloween Shaker Card Class $10 1:30
October 21 Dorothy’s 3 for $5 7 PM RSVP Please
October 23 Jane’s 3 for $5 10:30 & 1:30
October 25 Domino Necklace class 10:30 $15
Stampscapes Class 1:30 $16
Dead Line for Halloween Cards
Oct 27-30 voting on cards.
October 30 Day Stamp Club 10:30 & 1:30 $1
October 31 HALLOWEEN Come in and shop in costume and receive 10% off of total purchase. Does not include all ready discounted items.
October 31 Halloween Card contest winners announced

Halloween Card Contest Rules: Please use stamps that you have purchased from the Artfull Hand. Deliver to the store by 5 pm 10/25. Clerk on duty will have the last say as to if the stamps used had been purchase from the shop. Voting by customers begin 10/27 and goes to 10/30. Winners Announced on 10/31! Prizes will be awarded

Cards remain the property of the Artfull Hand.

Happy Birthday to me

It's my birthday today..... And I got a phone call from my son who is deployed to Afghanistan. How about that????