Happy Birthday Alex!

Alex (I don't know where taken)
best friend Kerry, and Alex

very nice boyfriend Mark, and Alex

a cropped picture of Alex, her brother, and sister
My 1st baby is 22 today! She is funny, kind, generous, thrifty (when necessary), resourceful, creative, artistic, a great organizer, a fantastic friend, assertive, highly intelligent, a good writer, and all around wonderful human being, who is always DOING. 

Here's a story that I love to tell. Alex was nearly 2 when we moved from NY to Maryland. We went to the Ellicott City Fair, (we then lived in Baltimore County, in a nearby old town).Ellicott City is a great old town with quaint, old, stone shops and buildings, and narrow streets, in an Andalusian style, filled with antique stores,  unusual art, and yummy restaurants. There was a Maypole Event. Children of all ages held a ribbon and went around the Maypole as music played. Alex was by far the youngest one there(2 or nearly 2). The music started, and the kids circled the Maypole. Suddenly, she tripped and fell-remember that all the other kids were older, and walked a lot quicker than a two year old. The crowd went "Oh!" in unison. Someone running the event  ran up to her to help her up (although she had already gotten up on her own), and to help her find her parents, to which she shook her head 'No!' and continued to finish the Maypole walk. The audience in unison this time went, "Aw!" At that moment, my heart swelled up so big, and I knew that my daughter would do wonderful things with her life. My eyes filled up with tears as  I felt her fiercely independent soul (well now, I guess that she's just 'a little' like her Mom-te!he! ).

Alex has continued to impress teachers, parents, bosses, and 'a few friends'. 'Take your work to the busy person', was probably written about her:) When her good friend, Mike, died of cancer at the tender age of 19, she gathered tons of photos, sayings,etc. from everyone to fill 2 huge corkboards, and then some, for the funeral parlor.And a year later on the anniversary of his passing, she was also the one to gather friends  to make a book in his honor with everyone writing about the good things that they remembered about him, and to present the book on a visit to his family

 She was the apple of her grandmother's eye, and the moment she was born, she stole my heart- forever. xo Love you sweetie.

Lifetime Service Award

Here's my hubby. We are proud of him!   This is from the USTA Mid-Atlantic Website:

"Lifetime Service Award

This Award is to honor an individual or group for their longstanding dedication and commitment to the game of tennis.

Ken Guendel(Md.) has been teaching tennis in various capacities at the Aspen Hill Club in Md, for 20 years. Currently, he is the Director of Junior Tennis and has been the Director for the Maryland State Boys' indoors and the Bob Wolf tournaments for seven years. His contributions to the Mid-Atlantic tennis include producing the Tidewater Tennis Guide (1978 and 1979); Nations' Capitol Wheelchair Tennis Association Board Member and Tournanment Director; Coach of Ryan Martin, the No. 1 World A Division Wheelchair player; Montgomery County Tennis Association (MCTA) Board Member and MCTA Wheelchair Program Director for the Montgomery County Middle Schools; and developed a MCTA tennis program for the wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Guendel, a USTA Player Development Program Head Coach, wrote and published numerous articles for the PTR magazine, Tennispro, and Mid-Atlantic Match Point. He was a featured speaker at the PTR International Tennis Symposium and the USTA National Tennis Teachers' conference, as well as at several regional and local workshops on the East Coast. He has been ranked No. 1 in singles and doubles in the Mid-Atlantic 40's. The 2003 USTA/Maryland Tennis Teaching Pro of the Year was twice a Bronze Ball winner at the USTA 45 National Grass Court Doubles Championships with Claude England."

My Rugs are getting Cleaned!-Kitties-Shows

Kiska-(Just click to enlarge any photo)
More pins

Home show flyer
Mr. Poufball himself
My former(passed away) kitty, Treesya, made into a paper stuffed ornament
Puma Pumata
"I said that's my spot in the sunlight!"(Kippy)
massive pouf a la Kippy
You can see where the dingleberries get stuck:)
Big yawn, big cat Kiska(pronounced Keeska)
"I didn't know that I wasn't allowed on the couch"(Puma-alias Meep, Meepy, Skreep...)
Kiska loves to jump up high- by the Dutch reverse painted antique painting
Kiska up high by the Russian antique Blickensderfer, and Sheriff Bunny on horseback(I made a few years back), next to Khokhloma , Russian dishes
I never thought that I'd be tickled about such a mundane act:) But, since we can't get to the wooden floors yet in this part of the house, I'm thrilled that they'll be getting done before the Home Show/Bake Sale. Ah, the simple things in life. 

Made the big list. Do the jobs ever go away? Do we ever get on top of them? Ehhhh! I love my newly finished office. It's great. But, my cat Kiska loves being w/me, (which is great of course,but...),, and he's always 'suddenly' on my lap in here. Now he's jumped onto the tall shelves from our 1st Victorian Colonial home." Don't knock over the vintage elephants, Kisi!" In the dining room, he was all over the rug around me. So, I think that I'll have to finish the vintage/Victorian(?) wooden cat bed. I want to paint it and to make a 'goy-geous' cushion. Will they fight over it, or will one of them reign? I have 3 kitties. Ah, if this question were my only 'problem'. :)

Touch up walls, fix fabric where kitties have tortured a beautiful arm chair, make large signs for show, send out emails, flyers, pass out flyers, clean, tag, deliver to Laura's show, make more artwork, have enough for the big Kris Kringle Show, get Virtual Pay Pal, open other bank account for the Virtual Pay Pal, spray paint two large branches we pulled earlier this year to hang twinkle lights on- to frame front door for the show and the holidays, find two nicer throws for other couch in living room, dust foyer hangin' lamp, and hang gold and silver glitter stars on it about 15 feet up, contact all contributing artists and bakers, ....you get the picture. Of course, I'll have to eliminate as I go along. That goes without saying. It would be nice to at least feel that I was on top of everything-well, maybe, Something!!!... do some more subbing, heal my back(herniated disc), take care of the family and house, pay the bills....I love my life! Thank you God for everything!!! Look for the tiniest good when feeling overwhelmed, or when feeling great about all. I am thankful for many, many things.

Build upon these wonderful things in our lives. Push away the negative, pull in the positive, out with the old, in with the new energy. I love organizing, because I feel accomplished  and more in control in this whacked out-of-control world. It's like swimming in the ocean, all the fish around you, yet finding your own jet stream. How to blur out the unnecessary?

My little kitty , Puma, forever a 'kitten looking cat', is only 8 lbs. 1 oz.. Poor thing has allergies on his chin, kitty cat acne/blackheads that drive him crazy. He went for his check-up and shots, and came home with medicine for an ear infection and receding gum line infection-they had to pull a tiny tooth. He probably got something stuck in the gums and it caused an infection. Because he's always scratching his chin, we didn't notice the ear and mouth. Seems that he might be predisposed to these ear problems , I've figured. I'm thinking that it's his small head (He's a small cat). He turned a year old  the end of the summer.

And my huge cat (not in girth, but in length),(his head is like twice the size of Puma's),Kiska(Kisi) chews his tail. You see, when we found him he had been in some horrible accident. Anyway, his tail has a million breaks in it. So, he periodically chews away at it. One day about three years ago, I found a piece of it on the floor. Thought it was just some fur, 'til I picked it up and felt the bone inside.( I still have it in a baggie, silly me). As long as the tail doesn't get infected, he'll be fine. But it just gets shorter and shorter. We find it wet. I think that he feels lousy on these days.

And Kippy, our #2 kitty(Mr. Kippurrs, Mr. Dingleberry-nicknamed for the dingleberries that he leaves around the house every once in a while-they get stuck to his fur, then drop off.) He's a very pouffy kitty. Stays so beautifully clean, all that fur and all. A little uppity at times. He's the Mr. Destructo of the furniture. The story goes that his person loved him very much. She passed away, and he was w/his  calico sister in an empty house for 2 years as his person's sister and niece came to feed him. So, if he really is this kitty, then we think that he developed these 'traits' during that time. He is, without a doubt, so adorable. Very possessive, yet has gorgeous pouffy good looks , and knows it. It's the only thing that saves him when he gets naughty w/his territorialism. We've threatened him a multitude of times. Oh, yeah, and he always runs out the door to chew grass. He's sooo quick! He is, without a doubt, the most naughty kitty I have ever had!

A Night of Creatiivity at the Library with Lydia:)

Well, Blogger doesn't want to upload my pin pictures. I'll have to try again later. Just click to enlarge for a better view.

These pins are fun to create. Collage some pictures , cut,  and create unique pins and other jewelry!(These pictures were scanned into my Mac, and are cuter in person:) Glaze , add some glitter, a pin back, add a few little steps,  and VOILA!

Holiday/Gift pins and other creative holiday/gift and gift wrapping ideas. Above are some examples of some pins. Bring your 'tool' kit, pictures, ephemera , Diamond Glaze/Liquid Crystal, jewelry makings, and any special baubles or items with which you might like to create! Come, chat, relax, and create. Make personalized gifts to fit the recipient.:) Have fun at the Boonsboro Free Library.

The Office is FINALLY Done!!!.....and we'll take the results to be postive

So, I am alive. I'm just very tired. Have had a lot going on.

 Some good news: Ken, my hubby, had some recent scans done. Some of the lung cancer is actually gone, compared to scans done at NIH this past July. Go figure. And some areas have decreased- in size , and in intensity. The Dr. said that there are some new , tiny areas, but that overall, the cancer has not increased. This is what Ken wanted at minimum. There was central cavitation in some of those little, new nodes. The Dr. was perplexed, but took it as good news.As the cancer dies off from the Protocel, (natural supplement), the dead cancer turns into 'blobs' of empty cells in the body, until the body naturally gets rid of them. We're praying, that that is what is happening to Ken, and that the Protocel is killing the cancer in his body. The 'new', tiny nodes are too tiny to measure.

At the beginning of Sept. I ended up in the hospital with some atrial fibrillation, (heart beating fast and irregularly). As it turns out, it was just stress, and no medicine is necessary. The Dr. said that I just had way too much stress on my plate. I was feeling great, so I started to plan and do more. I kind of 'don't sit still'. Even with the Lyme, and now with a disc problem from the hospital bed. (But doing much better. Just saw my chiropractor again today). There are no family heart problems. My heart is good and strong, and there are No blockages. The heart medicine was way too strong for me and my pulse was way too low with it. I feel pretty good with the Lyme too. I am so lucky to have done so well , and to have come so far. My heart shows no weakness from the Lyme, which is what usually happens when it is affected.

But things are slowly looking up. There have been financial constraints since my husband's brain surgery in Sept. of '06. This was all on my plate, as I kept much from my husband, to keep the stress away from him.The hospitalization was a wake-up call, especially for my hubby. He has been great about helping out more. He has been feeling good, just tired. He just got back to working his old schedule, from before the stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis.

Since there is not much calling for Russian teachers- although I've been trying to convince the new School for the Arts that's coming to our area, to teach Russian- I have been subbing. I also am Russian translator for a neighboring county in their schools, and I do artwork and sell it at shows. I would like to sell on Etsy, yet my camera doesn't take the best close ups. And I tend to work small.Oh, well, Baby Steps. I write and have a few books under my belt for which I would like to do the artwork before (probably) self-publishing.

Above are two collages that I made not too long ago.They are actually framed, but I just scanned the pictures into my Mac, so you can't see the frames. I just delivered Halloween items to the Frizelburg Antique Store's Halloween Sale. Next year I have to get it in even sooner. I ran last minute and didn't have a chance to take pictures. That happens a bit.

Now I'm getting ready for my Home Show/Bake Sale(the latter is luscious , and benefits our little church), the Christmas Show/Sale at Laura's Shop listed above(fabulous smalls, and wonderful local artists), and the Kris Kringle Show in Hagerstown  at the Community College. This show is in its 37th year, and ALL proceeds by the show master go directly to charity. This year it is Hospice. It's a great set-up with golf carts for rides for those who may be parked away from the ARRC building, or for those who need help. There are give-aways, and more. It's a fun atmosphere.

And, MY OFFICE IS FINALLY DONE!!! Halelujah!!! Our house instantly looks bigger, as the office contents had been in our living room, and my computer in the dining room. I can BREATHE!!!! Yeah!!!

ADVANTAGE KEN !