I'M BACK. . .

Hey All. . .

I can hardly believe that it has been over 3 months since I lost my Shotsy.  The holidays were very tough, but we made it through.  Not a day goes by that I don't grieve for him, but as the old adage states "Time heals all wounds".

I wanted to thank all of you for your outpouring of support and the wonderful cards, emails, and notes that were sent to me after Shotsy died.  You will never know how much comfort they truly brought to me.  Thank you too for all of you who have continued to check in on me letting me know you are still thinking of me.  I'm truly blessed to have so many wonderful people out there who care so much.  

I wanted to share this picture with you:

This is kind of my "memorial space" for Shotsy.  You can see there in the center of the first shelf is the tin containing his ashes.  I have a small Giant Schnauzer with a halo on top of it and my sister bought me a small pewter angel on a chain for him which hangs on the front.  These are the cards that were sent which surround  him.  The one card sitting to the left of his tin is a hand drawing in ink of a Giant Schnauzer that my friend Mark of Deadbeat Designs drew.  It is so beautiful and I was so touched that he took the time to draw it.  He is so talented.  Our vet's office also made a donation in Shotsy's name to a shelter.  I miss him so much.

Gunther is doing well (getting fat - he now weighs 135 pounds!!!)  He finally got groomed today. . .Here are his before and after shots:

I just had him shaved down so that we could get rid of all that wooliness which was really matted underneath from all of this damn snow (as you can see from the new header picture he LOVES).  He is always so worn out from the groomer that he sleeps all afternoon . . .he is actually snoring right now!  LOL  He was so woolly, that when I was walking him in the neighborhood a few days ago, I noticed a woman walking down her driveway with her dog, look towards us coming towards her, and promptly turned around and went back up her driveway.  When we got to her house, I looked up and she was standing by her house with her dog close to her laughing.  She said "When we first saw you coming, I thought you were walking a small black bear and I was afraid for my dog."  LOL  So I knew it was time for grooming.

Also, I know a lot of you were going through the drama with me regarding my "teeth".  I now have my new smile and thought I would share a picture of that with you as well:

It's kind of a cheesy grin but I wanted the teeth to show.  I think my dentist did a great job.  They look really natural and I have a smile I can be proud of now.  I'm still going back for a few adjustments because of a few sore spots, but I'm getting used to them more and more each day.

We are still battling the harsh winter here in Indiana. . .I'm hard pressed to remember a winter so cold and snowy.  Here is an example of what the "normal" has been around here for the last couple of months:

Our pool looks like a skating rink.  You can see the amount of snow on the table.  This was just one snow.

Well, I've taken up quite a bit of your time so I'll stop the update here.  I have missed you all and am planning to get by each of your blogs soon to catch up with all of you, so expect to seem some comments soon.  I have been working on cards and have several to share next post.

Again, thank you all so much for your support, and thanks for not forgetting about me.

Hugs,

Curt

WITH A SEVERELY BROKEN HEART

At this moment, I feel as if my heart has been ripped from my chest.  It is with indescribable  sadness that I let you all know I lost my beautiful Shotsy this morning.  He was suffering from breathing difficulties and was really struggling.  I rushed him to his vet and it was determined that he had a disease called Laryngeal Paralysis which causes them to struggle with breathing.  Because of his age (12 +) and few options for him, I had to say good bye.  He died peacefully in my arms as I cradled his head against my chest and held his paw.

Shotsy was such an amazing dog and was so much a part of our lives.  He was so smart and was so helpful.  He would pick up things that Jay would drop and hand them to him, he would carry groceries into the house from the car, and would even carry in the mail for me each day.  He was always so ready to please and he was such a happy dog.  I don't know what I'm going to do without him.

As you might imagine, I am devastated and my heart is broken.  All I've been able to do is walk through the house sobbing.  I just can't believe that he is gone.  But I wanted you to know because so many of you shared my dogs with me through this blog and I wanted you to know.  I also want you to know that I won't be blogging for some time to come.  I'm going to need quite a bit of time before I am able to resume.  I know you all will understand.  I'll miss you, but know I will think about you all.

REST IN PEACE MY HANDSOME BOY

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR NOVEMBER 13, 2013

Hey All!

I survived my oral surgery and even have a couple of cards to post.  For those of you who want the details on how I survived, I've posted it at the bottom of this post.  I just want to thank you all for the kind and positive comments you left me.  They meant a lot and helped me get through this ordeal.  I can't thank you enough.

For Halloween, my good blogging friend Mark who owns Deadbeat Designs, sent me a gift of some of his latest stamps.  So I thought I'd make a couple of cards showing some of them off.  Take a look:

These glasses are so fun and retro.  The timing of these two stamps was perfect.  Jay had his yearly eye exam last week.  They are so kind to him when he is there and take good care of him.  They go out of their way to accommodate his big power chair and try to make him as comfortable as possible.  So I wanted to send them a card thanking them for their kindness.  I stamped the little glasses at various angles to create the background then colored in the "spots" on the rim with red marker.  The big glasses are stamped with Versamark then embossed with clear ep for the shine of plastic rims.  I added jewels for sparkle.  I came up with the sentiment and it is computer generated.

 One of the many things I love about Mark is his sense of humor.  This sentiment stamp of his is a great example of his humor.  You can't tell in the photo, but both the sentiment box and "Leaning Thelma" are popped up with dimensionals and I fussy cut her out.  The background is just designer paper.  I have a friend in mine for this birthday card.

Now please don't look too close at either card. . .I've been on pain medication on and off for a week, so things look a little crooked. . .have mercy.

Pic of the Week

This is a view from the back yard of our 30+ foot sweet gum tree in our front yard.  It is massive and so beautiful in the fall.  It has reds, oranges, yellows, and greens.  I actually see this beauty from my bedroom window.  It is so vividly colored that my bedroom walls appear yellow/orange when the sun hits it.

OK . . .for those interested in my dental ordeal:

I ended up having 14 teeth extracted as well as some bony areas filed down.  I was in the chair for almost 2 hours.  What most people find appalling is that I was awake through the whole procedure.  Really, I was. . .of course they completely numbed me and I asked for "laughing gas" to relax me, but I was completely aware of what was going on.  Believe me, I heard every crack and pop as the teeth came out.  My only real complication was excessive bleeding.  If any of you are familiar with the show "The Walking Dead" on AMC, that is what I felt like.  Since my mouth was completely numb, I didn't realize that I was bleeding profusely as I was driving home.  At a stop light, I looked in the rear view mirror and realized with horror that blood had been oozing down both sides of my mouth.  It had dripped all over my leather coat, the front of my shirt, and the seat belt!  LOL  I seriously looked like one of the "walkers" from that show.  The bleeding didn't slow down much for the first 12 hours, but finally got to a "trickle".  I took pain pills a lot for the first 24 hours, and now sporadically for the last week.  The only real pain I have now is in the hinges of my jaws.  That pain is from my jaw muscles trying to adjust to a new position since I have no upper teeth to keep them at the level they are used to being.  But that too is getting better.  I had my follow up today and he said that it looked great and was healing nicely.  I've been spitting out stitches for the last couple of days (which is supposed to happen).  I go for my impressions on December 30th and should have my new smile by the second week of January.  I swear, I'm so tired of eating mashed potatoes, apple sauce, scrambled eggs, etc.  I am craving meat so badly!!!  LOL  But I can't even eat macaroni yet without mashing it into paste! 

Thanks again for your support.  It really meant a lot.  Even though I had to deal with all that I was going through, I still had to take care of Jay and the boys, and I can't lie, at times I just wanted to scream.  There is nothing like throbbing mouth pain that just makes you want to crawl into bed and die.  But I'd read your comments and knew I had friends out there thinking about me.  I love you guys!

Hugs,

Curt

"God, please help me be the person that my dogs think I am."

Hey All!

No normal post for today. . .Reason?  I'm having a major dental procedure done today.  At 2:40 this afternoon I will be having all of my upper teeth removed and 4 bottom wisdom teeth as well in anticipation of a full upper denture.  I have wanted this procedure done for years, and now the time has come.  After taking care of other people, it is time to take care of me.  My father's side of the family (whom I take after) was cursed with bad teeth.  My father had dentures by age 46.  I've just gotten so tired of not smiling, not wanting to go to functions, etc. because of my failing teeth.  For years I've endured painful procedures (i.e. root canals, crowns, extractions, etc.) to no avail.  I've always been terrified by dentists because of some horrible experiences as a kid, so going this afternoon, is almost like driving myself to a nightmare.  The other thing that will be tough to deal with is having no upper teeth until the first week of January!  OMG I can't imagine that, but hopefully the final outcome will be well worth it.

So please think about me today and tonight (I have a feeling that tonight is going to be a rough one).  Send out positive thoughts that I get through this rough part and that today goes well!

Thanks everyone!  I appreciate your positive energy!

Hugs,

Curt

"God, please help me be the person that my dogs think I am."

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Hey All!

It is HALLOWEEN!!!!  I waited until today to post because I just wanted to wish you all a very safe, spooky, and happy Halloween.  The weather here is perfect for a creepy Halloween night.  It is rainy, windy, dark and grey.  Perfect for the creatures to come out and haunt.  Trick or Treating has been postponed here in Indianapolis until tomorrow because of the stormy weather.  So I'm going to curl up and watch a scary movie in peace tonight.   HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Harrowing Hugs!

Count Curtis

"God, please let me be the person that my dogs think I am."

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR OCTOBER 23, 2013

Hey All!

Glad to see that you are back safe and sound.  I've enjoyed my visits this week with all your wonderful stuff!  I've noticed, there are a lot of you who love Halloween like I do.  I've really enjoyed your Halloween creations so much.

Speaking of. . .(close your eyes Bonnie!)

Skeletons are one of my most favorite characters during Halloween.  Isn't that cut out circle feature cool?  I got my inspiration from THIS CARD. When I saw the card that inspired me, this one came into my head.  I used various stamps for this: The big skull and Halloween ticket are by Craft Smart (wood mount), the skeleton is by My Minds Eye, and the skeleton hand holding the ticket is by my buddy Mark at Deadbeat Designs, and the French script background is Stampabilities.  This is a 5 1/2 X 5 1/2 square card.

                         

I'm sending this one to my Vet's office.  I used real gauze to wrap a piece of beige colored card stock.  The image is by Stampendous.

Love this Halloween martini glass by Impression Obsession.  Super quick and easy card to make for those "adult" Halloween lovers on your list.  Colored it all with Bic markers.  The background paper is My Mind's Eye.

OK, Halloween stuff shown, now my Fall project (You can open your eyes now Bonnie):

I bought the template for this box months ago and just now got around to using it.  It is a great box with a drawer for cards (holds 6 A2 sized cards perfectly) and a shelf for the envelopes.  The template is by Creations by AR which you can find HERE.  These are a sample of the cards that are inside:

Same stamp, just colored differently.  The first has just solid color trees and the bottom has variegated colored leaves.  I colored the bottom by just making lots and lots of dots with different colored markers.  On both, I added the dots at the bottom of each tree to simulate fallen leaves.  The stamp is by Memory Box.  There are 3 each for a total of 6 cards in the set.  Each says something different.  I'm giving this set to my Mom and sister.

Pic of the Week:

 

Even weeds are beautiful in the Fall!

Well, that's it for this post.  Sorry I put in so much, but I've had lots to share.  I know my posts are like epic journeys!  LOL  Thanks so much for always coming to see me and leaving me such great comments.  You all are truly the highlight of my week.

Hope you are all well and happy!

Hugs,

Curt

"God, please help me be the person that my dogs think I am."

THE WEDNESDAY EVENING POST FOR OCTOBER 16, 2013

Hey All!

There you are!  Come on in and get out of that rain.  Here, let me take your umbrella.  Glad you made it despite this rainy evening!  Would you like something to drink?  Tea, coffee, alcohol?  LOL

I have to apologize up front for the photos on this post.  I tried to take some of them in very dim lighting to show the candle light, so they didn't come out to my standards. . .

This is a card I made for my Mom's doctor.  My Mom asked me to make a card for her to give to her doctor for Halloween.  This is a "Tunnel" card.  As you will see below.  The only stamping I did is the "boo".  The rest was already on the paper.  The swirlies and the spider are all done in black glitter.  I just chopped up the paper and paneled it, raising each section with dimensionals.  Here is the inside:

Now, I've added my own touch to this tunnel card.  Where there is supposed to be the sentiment there in the raised center cutout, you can only see a piece of vellum.  That is my twist. . .and here is the surprise revealed:

Set the card over an electric tea light and it reveals a spooky scene.  The scene was created using a die cut from Impression Obsession.  I attached it behind the vellum.  What do you think?  And I couldn't just send her in to her doctor with just a card now could I?  Heck no!  I had to make her a little treat box too:

With treats inside:

I made this eyeball box I think a couple of years ago.  So I got my instructions out and made it again for her to give.  Don't you love the eyeball candy?  They are peanut butter filled!  LOL  The box with insert is very simple, and if you want the instructions, send me an email and I'll send them to you.

So, I liked the Halloween Tunnel card so much that I made one as a birthday card for my Mom:

The leaves were punched out from various foil and glittery papers.  Inside:

You can kind of see the light from the electric tea light there at the bottom.  This vellum was already pre-stamped with the leaves so it made this one so easy to do.  The message to the recipient is on the back panel.   The tutorial for the tunnel card is HERE.  Where I deviated from the tutorial is putting vellum over the opening.

I also made this for my Mom's birthday from Shotsy and Gunther:

See that belly band?  Here it is from the back:

And when you open it up:

Tah Dah!  A gift card for Grandma!  

Pick of the Week

These are pumpkins some friends, family and I carved. . .Can you guess which one is mine?

Hope you enjoyed your visit today.  I'm always glad that you come for a visit.  I'm still making my way around to visit all of you.  So if I haven't seen you yet, I'm on my way!

Enjoy the upcoming weekend and the rest of your week!

Hugs,

Curt

"God, please help me be the person that my dogs think I am."