Kittens, letters 'n' swaps!

Goodness! I'm having such a difficult time keeping up with everything these days, actually it's been months since I've been able to organize myself properly. I used to be such an organized person until my burn-out a couple of years ago. I wonder if I'll ever be able to multi-task as I once did. It can certainly be frustrating. I always mean to do this and that but there just seems to be mountains of things to do...Ugh! I'm anxious just thinking about it! So, let me change the subject before I get myself all worked up about what I haven't done yet. Let's talk kittens. They have certainly made themselves at home and are quite mischieveous. I think Subaru (beige) sleeps with his ears open because whenever I try to sweep or do anything there he is underfoot. And, Mustang (gray) thinks I am a bed for him to sleep on. He snuggles right up on my shoulder making it impossible for me to do anything. But, they are so darn cute!!! Take a look at the photos below. :)

Kylie, the old lady (Nikkisum's sister) is learning to tolerate them unless they get too close. They have become used to her growling and hissing so they don't really care anymore. They follow her around which annoys her to no end. It can be quite amusing.

Subaru is the mischieveous one. We moved the plant on the counter because he had basically killed it so now he thinks, one, it's okay to jump on the counter (not) and two, use the plant as his bed (not again).
So, onto some mail news now.

I received a wonderful letter this week from my friend Nicole whom I had lunch with at the beginning of November (previous post). She sent cute decos, postcards, a great travel report and photos.

Today I received a great letter from my friend Annette from Australia with some belated birthday presents. It's never too late to celebrate!

I also received a great letter from my friend Laura from Romania. She sent some craft supplies, decos and FBs.

Then I received this fantastic letter with FBs that my friend Margaret and I thought had gone missing since it was mailed in June. She lives in Scotland so not on another planet. It makes no sense that her letter took so long to reach me. But, well at least it did.
And, some swap news now.

I received 50g est. fbs as part of a group swap.

And, 3 postcards from the Ukraine, 50g est. fbs (2x) and two teabags from another group swap.

Another group swap with gorgeous decos, House Mouse FBs, stickers and embellishments.

Two lovely Vintage New York decos as another group swap.

A pretty Vintage Nurse deco from a group swap.

I've also started receiving pretty Christmas cards and also some packages which I have put under the tree. I always open the cards beforehand though. The top right card is from my friend Lone in Germany. It is a Marjolain Bastin card and I love her art work. :) The card next to it is from my friend Eva, also from Germany. The Santa card on the bottom is from my friend Nicole and the one next to it is from Stefanie in Switzerland. It is really pretty and made by her.

So, this is all for this evening. I hope to be back soon to show you some of the craft projects I have been working on. I need to get them done for Christmas. Yikes!

Weekend in sunny New Hampshire!

I had such a wonderful weekend in New Hampshire with my friend Molly and her family. It was such a warm and sunny weekend too. Whenever I am somewhere shopping I always tend to look around to buy for others but this time it was about ME. I bought myself some crafting supplies, a blouse, a sweater and a t-shirt. I also bought the book "Eat, Pray, Love" and I'm looking forward to reading it before I watch the DVD. I'm already reading something now and I'm not the type of person who reads more than one book at a time so I'll have to patiently wait. Anyhow, on Sunday, Molly and I met our mutual pal Nicole at "Pickity Place" for lunch. I absolutely LOVE this restaurant. It is a house turned into a restaurant in the forest surrounded by gardens and there are two gift shops. Once you arrive at "Pickity Place" you can feel yourself relaxing and enjoying nature. How lovely it must be to relax there with a book (weather permitting of course). I LOVE their gift shops and spent over $100.00 and let me tell you I could've bought more. Below you'll see my purchases. The lunch we had was DELICIOUS! I look forward to going again next spring. Of course the company was also wonderful! :) Below is a photo of myself, Molly and Nicole (left to right).

A beautiful fall display right outside one of the gift shops.

I thought this bird bath display was really pretty.

And now my purchases. I love pottery so I bought this pretty bowl with plate for soup and a sandwich, only to be used by ME. Also, a balsamic vinaigrette, packets for lavender lemonade, potato soup, steak seasoning and garlic butter seasoning. Yum!

I also couldn't resist a bar of lavender soap. I could just walk around with it stuck to my nose I love the smell so much.

I also bought a beautiful bracelet made from clay beads. I love these colours.

And, finally I bought a wonderful assortment of Christmas items, hot chocolate, tea cup cards with packets of tea, vintage style ornaments.

I LOVE shopping in these types of boutiques so much and I dream of owning one someday.
Okay, onto some mail news now. I received this lovely Coco Chanel Deco as part of a group swap.

Also these Apples & Pumpkin FBs for another group swap.

And, these Leonardo Da Vinci Decos for another group swap.

My friend Molly sent me a sweet sympathy card for Nikkisum's passing and some photos.

And, that concludes my news for tonight. :)

More mail & Christmas!

Wow! I can't beleive how quickly time is flying by. Only 48 days left until Christmas and I have A LOT to do. Today was a rest day for me. I was exhausted and lately I've felt like all I have done is run, run, run. It was nice to just relax and think of myself for a change. After I finish up here I'm going to make some hot cocoa, turn on some Christmas music and answer some letters. Something about Christmas music makes me smile and relax. :) So, onto some mail news.
A beautiful "Vintage Couples" Deco I received from a swap partner for a group swap.

A wonderful letter from my friend Lone in Germany. She also sent a great travel report from her travels to The Netherlands, decos, FB, postcards, photos and a cute Halloween card she made.
"Cute Characters in Fall" FBs I received from a group swap partner.

On the weekend we celebrated Noah's 9th birthday. We didn't really do much since the weather was so crappy, wet and damp. However, we went to the pool (one of his favourite activities), had this yummy cake and presents. He is 9 years old but still likes Pooh and friends. He doesn't like anything violent or scary. Some parents encourage their children to like "things their age" but we always tell Noah he can like what he wants. :)

As I mentioned Christmas is coming so time to think of gift giving (something I love). I painted this cat design on a bag that holds wine bottles for one of Noah's teachers. She is fantastic and deserves a nice thoughtful gift. I still have the lettering to do. I really like the way it turned out.

And, I've been buying a steady supply of craft items. Here are some of the things I found at a shop near my home today. I'll be starting on Christmas card making next week.

This weekend I'll be out of town. I'm going to visit my friend Molly in Keene, New Hampshire. We'll do some shopping and on Sunday we'll meet our mutual pal Nicole for lunch at a great restaurant called "Pickity Place". I'm really looking forward to it. :o)

I'm back to business! :o)

Hey there fellow bloggers and friends! October was one of the most difficult months of my life and I will always hold a special place in my heart for Nikkisum. She will always remain special. Jeffrey and Noah wanted to get kittens to put new life and energy into our home. At first I felt guilty but I am so happy they are here now. They are the sweetest little things. Of course the old lady (Nikkisum's sister) Kylie doesn't like them at all but I'm hoping she'll learn to love or at least tolerate them. So, let me introduce you to our two new family members.
Here is Mustang who loves being carried around and cuddled.

And, here is Subaru who loves playing and getting pets. By the way, they were named by the vet. The vet we go to is actually wonderful. They are like a family there. They have a refuge for abandonned animals. They put them in good host families until they are adopted. They never put any animal to sleep.

Here are the two rascals sleeping. Kylie wasn't too happy about this because they were in her spot. Oh well!

Now, let's move on to Halloween which was last weekend. We woke up to this (see image below) so I was wondering if it wasn't "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Halloween". It was a cold night for Trick or Treating but we dressed warmly. We actually had fun walking around the neighbourhood and seeing all of the costumes and decorations.

Pretty pumpkins we saw while out collecting candy with Noah.

This was during the costume parade Noah's school had the Friday before Halloween. Noah has the Mario costume on and the kids are some of his classmates.

Here is Noah's teacher, Mrs Lecompte. We really lucked out getting her this year. She's awesome.

Below are some of my latest creations. I have made many more for swaps but I didn't take photos of them. I had to hurry to mail them out so no time for photo taking. :(

A Vintage Halloween Deco.

All For Kimie Deco.

Another All For Kimie Deco.

Vintage Mother and Child Deco.

And, now onto some mail news. I might have forgotten to take some photos of mail I have received since I had a few weeks to catch up on. :(

I received such an awesome letter from my friend Rosita from Finland. She sent such wonderful things with her letter: images of Tilda (I love!!!), rubber stamps, FBs, postcards, and photos.

I also received a great package of craft supplies from Margaret and Zannah for angeling some swaps on their group, Creative-High-Quality-Crafts.

I received these sweet Cute Characters in Autumn FBs from a group swap.

A wonderful letter from my friend and pal Molly from USA. She also sent a vintage Halloween card and FBs.

Another great letter from a new pal Patrizia from Italy. She also sent some stickers, stationary sheets and FBs.

Another fantastic letter from my friend Beate from Norway. She sent me a sweet package of craft supplies.

I love this pretty postcard I received from my friend Molly when she traveled to Virginia, USA.

I received these really pretty Holly Hobbie Decos from a group swap.

Another swap, 4 established Decos.

Halloween FBs from another group swap.

I love these vintage FBs from another group swap.

A Vintage Halooween Deco from a group swap. Love it!

A really pretty friendship card from my friend Molly from USA. She also sent some photos.

A really nice postcard from my friend Susi from Austria from when she visited Korea.

Another swap, 50 grams of HQFBs.

Another fantastic letter from my friend Renata from Germany. She sent a belated birthday card and FB.

Wonderful All for Isabelle FBs from another group swap.

Two swaps; 100 grams of craft supplies in fall colours and 3 established Decos.

A 25 vintage image swap.

A stationary swap, a belated birthday card with stationary as present and Vintage Cars FB swap, My Country Pap Deco, Animals Pap Deco and Santa Deco.

Phew, this certainly was a LONG post. I will be more regular with blogging in the future. :)

A sad update on Nikkisum!

Hello! I'm back but I'm still quite sad and I feel an emotional void and hole in my heart. I had to have my beloved Nikkisum put to sleep this past Wednesday. It was the most difficult decision in my life and the saddess day I have ever lived. Nikkisum only weighed 5.8 pounds, wasn't eating and could hardly walk. I tried everything to help her get well but the kidneys just gave out. She was the most selfless cat and always by my side. I could feel comfort whenever I held her and I miss that feeling terribly. I wish I could have her back. I love her so very much. Below is her photo.

Completly heartbroken & devasted!

I haven't posted in almost two weeks, and not because I don't have anything to post about but because I don't feel up to it at the moment. I have to take a blog break. I am dealing with the fact that one of my cats, Nikkisum is dying. She is in the final stages of kidney failure. I took her to the vet yesterday because she hasn't been eating and has lost an immense amount of weight. They did a complete blood analysis and I was told the devastating news. I have been in steady tears ever since and my heart is breaking. I can't bear the thought of losing her. To me it is like losing a child. She is such a sweet, gentle and docile cat, always there by my side. So, that is all I have to write for now. Catch you at a later time when I am feeling better.