Hello My Dear Stamping Friends,
I’m back!!!
I’m so sorry for the delay in posting. We had a wonderful trip to Thailand—thanks to all of you, my wonderful downline members, and Stampin’ Up! The trip was amazing and we’re so happy to have been there. Jim wrote a great blog with lots of info and pictures. You can see it at beltguy.com/blog.
The only downfall was that Jim got sick for a few days while we were there (it didn’t actually make us miss out on anything). I got sick after we got home—I was sick for 7 days before we got test results telling us that I had salmonella. I don’t want to have it again.
An update on our daughters: Lisa had her third chemo session last week. It was harder on her than the previous ones, but she’s doing pretty well now. The doctor has asked her to use a cold cap before, during, and for 2 hours after her chemo sessions. It’s supposed to prevent permanent hair loss. It’s very painful and claustrophobic as it’s very tight and then is tied to her head with something that runs under her chin. She has one more session to go and she’ll be finished with her treatments. Then on November 3rd, she’ll have her final surgery. I’ll be so glad when she’s finished.
Kelly had her port placed a couple of weeks ago and had her first round of chemo last week (she & Lisa actually had their chemo infusions at the same time at different locations). Kelly’s doctor had been following a study and changed her infusion drug right before she began receiving it. She’ll now have six rounds of a little bit less harsh chemo and will then have daily radiation treatments. She’s teaching this year and plans to miss school only on the chemo session days. Kelly tolerated her chemo pretty well.
Thankfully, Judy is breast cancer free. She had a mammogram and then had to have a biopsy, but it came back clear. We are praying that she stays cancer free.
This is really crazy, but I had my regularly scheduled mammogram a few weeks ago. There had been a change so I had to have a diagnostic mammogram and an ultrasound. I now have to have a biopsy on Wednesday. The doctor was very reassuring that it will be benign. I’ll be really glad when it’s over.
I hope you can make it to the stamp camp that I have scheduled for Friday, September 29th and Saturday, September 30. It will be here at my house and we’ll have our regular salad potluck. You may bring any kind of salad ingredients or dessert. We’ll get the lettuce, spinach, & rolls (and Jim will slice and butter them for you).
The fee is $45 and $35 for club members. You'll make 10 cards.
I’m thinking this time we’ll do 3 Christmas cards, 2 or 3 masculine cards, and 5 or 6 all occasion cards. What do you think of that?
For the next event, would you like to have a stamp camp or stamp a stack that is all Christmas cards?
I’ve actually been stamping a lot—I made 186 thank you note cards for Lisa & Kelly over the past few weeks. I used our Whisper White & Very Vanilla note cards, added a layer of card stock, stamped on designer paper, and layered that onto the coordinating card stock. They are really cute and really easy. The girls love them and I’ve loved using my retired designer paper.
I’m going to start sharing the swaps that I received in Thailand with you. Please let me know if you want the measurements, etc. and I’ll measure them for you.
The first card is one of my favorite swaps from the trip. It was created by Alicia Graham.
The second card uses the new Embossing Paste and is mixed with copper embossing powder and then heat embossed. It is beautiful and was created by Sue Lepako.
I hope you enjoy these swaps that I received. I’m having so much fun with them.
Hugs to all of you, Pat
