I walked on the treadmill this morning without holding on to the handlebars. Brian and I shared a good breakfast. I finished getting ready for our housekeeper to come today (rather than her normal day Friday) and got ready for the day.
Then Brian brought my Thai lunch AND a treat for both of us. When I finished, we went to the cafe for the afternoon. I had a good day sketching. I got my spot ( :0) ) and sat comfortably sketching and enjoying my iced latte. When I got up for the day, I noticed a man waiting. I realized he was waiting for ‘my’ spot! We compared notes on how wonderful that spot was and I wished him well.
Here are the Christmas cards I finished today. I think this is the end of making them, unless I figure out I’m short when I check my list –
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I spent much of the morning researching sources for my Thai ghost article for Substack, and I think I’m ready to tackle it. The Thai culture is so complex and interesting. The more I learn, the more I want to learn.
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They are digging up part of the street again. They have a bunch of pretty large tubing. I have no clue what they’re doing –
This is for everyone, but particularly for Sheila, because of the spirals. Isn’t it magnificent?
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Here are my latest sketches –
I had a good time at the cafe yesterday, getting my favorite spot. The only thing was they had the front door propped open. I looked toward the back and there were two glass sliding doors open, as well, so there was no escaping the cool cafe. I was VERY glad I wore my hoodie. I just kept it on and worked. I think I need to make 10 more Christmas cards and then I’ll have enough. I’ll check my list again, though.
I did the third Thai Ghost. I have the 4th mostly sketched in and will try to get the 5th one sketched this afternoon.
It’s almost time for my lunch to be delivered! This new addition to my eating is helping me solve my hunger/cravings problem, giving me more energy, providing HEALTHY things for me to eat, plus a snack for later, if needed. I gained the one pound yesterday, and so am back in my maintenance range, rather than a tad below it. Yesterday I had a piece of chicken, some tomato-y soup, a salad, rice, and apple slices. The lunches are different each day, so it’s a nice way to try different things.
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Today I’ll do several videos by Aussie Mike (that’s MY name for him. He’s the expert on senior exercises that I’ve been following for quite a while now. His website is called MoreLifeHealth.com/exercises. Today I’ll concentrate on exercises for my arms and the balance exercises.
I’m just back from the cafe. I had just sat down and was getting settled when my favorite server came and got me, motioning to the front where ‘my’ spot is, indicating he had put the ‘reserved’ sign there for ME. He helped me move and I sat in complete comfort, sipping my ice latte, enjoying intermittent sprinkling rain while I sketched.
I got an idea for combining the idea of dinosaurs and Christmas for cards for the two adopted grandchildren who are old enough to like the cards now, and so I sketched those out today, along with 4 other Christmas cards. That brings my total to 40 now. I plan to make 50 this year, so I should be able to wrap things up soon. I’ll start giving them out mid-December. Places around here are already starting to put up Christmas decorations! I also did most of the 3rd sketch (of 5) of the main ghosts of Thailand.
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Yesterday I showed you my new jigsaw puzzle.
This is the border so far…. Aren’t you impressed? I AM impressed with the glorious colors in this puzzle. Each piece is simply dazzling. It’s hard to stay away from it.
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We went to visit Harvey at the nursing home this morning. This was not one of the better visits. He was asleep when we arrived. We just sat there beside the bed for a while, and then went over and sat on the couch. He coughed and woke himself up, and then we went and held his hands and I rubbed his head. He was really lethargic and his cough was worse. He didn’t want to talk, except that he did tell Brian that he liked the magazines Brian brought last time.
We got a message from the nursing home that the new owner (an ER physician) will visit Harvey once a week to monitor his condition. That makes us feel better about the change in ownership and the many other changes he will probably make.
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Latest group of Christmas cards.
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I’m finally completely over my sore throat and accompanying weakness. I did fine at the gym on the treadmill this morning, not having to hold onto the handlebars for steadiness and not checking the time a lot. I felt stronger. Yea!
Today is water bottle exercises.
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I will write a couple more blog posts, do some prepping for the session at the cafe, and do some things around my place. I hope you have a happy day.
I’ve had a good morning. We went to the gym and shared breakfast as usual. Then I did something I’ve never done before – I didn’t sleep well last night, having to take a Tylenol-type pill in the middle of the night, so I was tired and sleepy. When I got back to my place, I turned off the air filters, opened all the windows, turned on the fan, and took a nap.
I felt MUCH better when I woke up, more ready to face the day. I closed everything up again, turned on the a/c and did a good, long session of yoga stretches.
And finally, I gave myself the treat of rereading a story by I.L. Williams about a girl and her dog. It got me emotionally the same way it did the first time. I.L. Williams is quite a storyteller. She draws you in immediately, makes you care.
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These are the latest painted sketches.
I’m going to add the details to some Christmas cards I started yesterday and then choose what to tackle next on drawings. I have several wonderful or challenging choices to try. I’ll spend part of the afternoon at the cafe, enjoying a latte and sketching.
Shout out to my friend Sheila Murrey for taking this photo of the axolotls in the store where her daughter works for me. I simply LOVE these. If you look very carefully, you can see the gray one pretty easily. You might have to look a bit longer to see the white one who is trying to hide. Thank you, Sheila!!! ♥️
“The axolotl is a species of mole salamander. It is neotenic, reaching sexual maturity without undergoing metamorphosis, and the adults remain fully aquatic with obvious external gills.”
I found this pic on the net and will try to draw it.
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I finished the first few Christmas cards yesterday.
Each card will be different, and different from anything I did last year. I’ll make a few at a time, finding designs I like, figuring out which ones might be good for each person.
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We are just back from visiting my husband at the nursing home. He was more alert today, but was delusional most of the time, talking about plotting to take over a place we visited years ago and ridding it of all the bad stuff. Brian teased him about being a “master mind of evil,” and he almost smiled with his eyes. He has the idea now that he wants to rearrange his Happy Wall and thinks I’m the current Grandma Moses and that we can sell all my drawings for a fortune – talk about delusional! Anyway, that was a nice thing to say. He broke my heart right before we left. He motioned that he wanted me to come back to his bedside, and he said, “Get me out of here.”
Brian and I talked about it. Harvey says all is good there. He is not hurting. The people are treating him well. So what is he actually meaning when he says this –
We really think he is actually saying, “Do something to make all this go away. Take away the bad stuff that has happened and make it go back the way it was when I was healthier, able to take care of myself, think straight, get out of bed and do the things I used to do.”
He doesn’t realize it now takes three trained people to get him out of the bed and into a wheelchair. That he cannot eat enough food by himself without the nasal tube to survive. Can’t understand where he is, what is happening, what year it is, who we are much of the time, and more. Trying to explain any of this over and over again is fruitless.
We just hold his hands, hug him and kiss him. bring him pictures for his wall from time to time, bring him pineapple pies and grape drink (plus a probiotic, if he’ll drink it), and talk to him about whatever is on his mind while we’re there.
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I feel good because I’m wearing a jeans vest that I’ ve had for 100 years or so that I’ve always worn open (because I couldn’t even THINK of actually trying to button the buttons. Today I put it on, buttoned the buttons, and actually find it ROOMY. The best part of my weight loss is that I’m feeling so much better, but a nice sidebar is when I can FEEL a difference from two years ago to now. 🥳
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I forgot to tell you yesterday that my neighbors and I went toward the elevator at the same time yesterday morning as I was going up to join Brian for breakfast. I asked them if they had a minute and gave the little boy the card I made showing the robot in the tree swing. He really seemed to like it. The parents grabbed a whole sack of his artwork. I took a minute to look and he’s really good. I apologized that I had to leave, but that I would love to take more time and really enjoy looking at his work at another time. Hopefully, they will invite me.
I love the fact that this doggie seems to be enjoying being a Christmas tree.
Cardfool.com
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Brian and I went to a get-together yesterday afternoon and evening at the beautiful condo of a friend nearby, joined by our adoptive family and a BUNCH of other people. I knew some of them and met a whole lot of others. There were three kids there as well as the adults, so it was a fun mix.
A beautifully decorated table was groaning with all kinds of finger foods. Brian kept going and filling our plate with more – and I ate ALL of my share, loving every bite.
As we got ready to leave, I thanked our hosts and gave them a Christmas card. I then went around the room, distributing the cards I had made. My Christmas gift was seeing the surprise and pleasure the cards brought. If you could ‘see happiness,’ it was overflowing out of the top of my head…
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Yesterday morning we visited Harvey at the nursing home. It was a visit I will treasure. It started with him greeting me saying, “Hi, Babe.” He was alert, not in pain, and not complaining about anything. I gave Khun Yuwaret, his nurse, the card I made for her and we cried and hugged each other. We have been so lucky to have her take care of Harvey. She will be missed and no one will ever replace her.
Harvey told me that he had ordered 40 gallons of coffee for me and a handbag. (there is no way he can actually DO this, thank goodness). When I reminded him that we had loved each other for over 64 years now (56+ married and then 9 years or so before that while we were dating), he said, “64 years is a good start.” And then he said, “You are my Miss Universe.” He also said that I was his ‘favorite’ wife. (He has announced he has married several others since his stroke and has fathered children on Mars.) I told him that as long as I was his “Number 1” wife, he could have as many women in his harem as he liked. There was just a glimmer of a smile at that. Both Brian and I saw it. It was the first since April’s stroke. To say that I will never forget this visit is an understatement.
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On the way back from visiting Harvey, we stopped at Central Festival, the big mall in Chiang Mai, so that I could see the decorations and we could see if I could find a pair of jeans that fit.
The decorations were pretty, but not what I expected. There were signs here and there of the queen mother, who passed away last month, saying celebrations had been held to a minimum in deference to her passing.
I did find two pairs of jeans and two new tees. Since my weight loss, I had no clue what size I wear. Compounding this problem, Thai people are very small. That means that if there is any ‘size’ to YOU, you have to think to get several sizes larger than your normal size in order to have a chance of getting into it. We just held them up in front of me and I took a trip to the dressing room.
I still don’t know what size I wear – 26 cms – 12A – 6-B1 were on the labels, but I feel GOOD that I am close to my weight loss goal now and I’m delighted that I feel so much healthier. I’ll continue to try to get to my goal, but my focus is changing to adding more varieties of exercise to my day to increase stamina, flexibility, strength, and balance. Merry Christmas to me!
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I had my weekly massage this morning and it was terrific, as usual. This afternoon we will go the cafe to get out of Khun Nong’s way while she cleans my place. I love being a pampered “Lady of Leisure!”
I went for my massage. My therapist was back and I received a fabulous massage. I gave her the Christmas card I painted for her. She smiled and seemed very happy. The other massage lady was busy with a client, so I’ll check back later to see if I can give her her card then.
After my massage I went out to the garage of the building and gave the garage attendant his card. He seemed quite surprised and had tears in his eyes as we bowed to each other. I then found the lady who brings us chairs when we have to wait a while for a GRAB ride. She is also one of the housekeepers in the condo building. She took one look at her card and hugged me!
About half an hour my doorbell rang. The nice lady was there, handing me a roll of bamboo full of something I gathered was something to eat. We smiled, bowed and hugged each other again. 🙏🏻
I texted Brian and he came to my place. He thought it was some kind of a Thai desert. We ate it and found it to be wonderful. It had rice, coconut and something else – sweet and delicious. Brian looked it up and sent me this YouTube video of what is called, “Bamboo Sticky Rice” –
She speaks no English, and I speak no Thai, but we had a beautiful exchange nonetheless. I will thank her for her beautiful gift the next time I see her. 🙏🏻
We will leave to go to the cafe soon to get out of Khun Nong’s (my housekeeper’s) way while she cleans my place. I’ll take my sketchbook, drawing supplies, my Kindle, and my sweatshirt. I will give a Christmas card to one of the servers there.
So my day has been a happy one, of thank you’s, Christmas cards, happy smiles, hugs, and more. What a beautiful place this is!
We went to visit Harvey at the nursing home this morning. On the way there, Brian received a text from Harvey’s nurse. It said, “Mr. Harvey said, “I want to see my wife, and I want a pineapple pie.”
I guess that set my expectations up too high because once we got there, although he enjoyed the pineapple pie Brian had brought for him, he only talked about a couple of things – something biting his foot and his wanting to take a picture of whatever it was, and then his wanting to go ‘home’ with us, though he wasn’t at all sure where ‘home’ was. The fact that we have explained that the help he needs is at the nursing home where they have the equipment and the expertise it takes to give him 24 hour care, just doesn’t stick. In his mind, we can simply pack him up, stuff him into a car, and take him to my place. It breaks my heart when he does this. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen often. Most of the time he is content and comfortable, though communication varies all over the place. I was pretty depressed when we left.
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I had given Christmas cards to the manager of the nursing home and Harvey’s nurse. We stopped at the chocolate place and I gave the lady who is so sweet to us a card. You would have thought I gave her a million dollars. Her smile filled the room and my heart. Somehow, two little exquisite chocolate cookies showed up as an extra on our order today…. ❤️
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When we got home I took a card to the lady who runs the laundry, and another to one of the ladies in the office – the one who greets us with a smile every day whenever we leave the building. I will pass out more tomorrow. It really brings up my spirits to surprise people this way.
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Brian told me that it’s a Chinese custom to drink hot water. My research showed – “The Chinese custom of drinking hot water stems from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and historical sanitation practices. It is believed to promote health by balancing the body’s energy, aiding digestion, and expelling humidity, while historically, boiling water was the safest way to make it potable. Today, the tradition persists, with many Chinese people continuing to prefer hot or warm water, often served with a meal. “ I am drinking a cup of hot water as I type this, trying to warm up. 🍵
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The Healthy @Readers Digest
I will do my exercises for my arms with water bottles this afternoon. That will warm me up, as well. I find that doing this one day and doing yoga stretches on alternate days gives me a good balance in addition to my walking on the treadmill.
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I have now tried out my new chair in my art alcove. It really makes a difference. I also worked on my puzzle a bit using the old alcove chair with the cushions, and it’s much more comfortable. My son, Brian, is no longer worried that the older wooden chair won’t last, so I am a happy camper.
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Yesterday I made a card for my son’s birthday. I will give it to him on the 13th. He wants to just forget about his birthday, so I’m determined to celebrate it. I will see if I can get a cake and a candle at the shop near here, and I will give him the card. I will also sing to him, making his excruciating experience complete. 🥳
Earrings – Dangle/Wire – 2-1/2″ Green Teardrop-Shaped with Green and White Extra Disc One-of-a-Kind Hand-Painted Wooden – $13.95 with FREE SHIPPING to the contiguous U.S.
I had fun in my art room yesterday. I’m doing one part of the Christmas cards at a time, then letting them dry. I’m trying to make stylized Christmas wreaths using a multi-media approach, and I’m having a blast using different media and experimenting with different techniques. There is a definite freedom know that if they’re a disaster (as the first ones were) there is a place waiting in the trash can and I can start again. :0)
I got the masking tape on one of the glasses yesterday. I’m trying to get up the courage to try the liquid etching system. I’ve never done this before, so I’m working VERY slowly, reading the directions over and over before actually taking the plunge. Maybe I’ll work myself up to try the first one today. If not, I can do more of the masking tape stage on the other glasses.
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Exciting things for the day include gathering the trash, driving it down to the bottom of the driveway, getting our mail. Be still, my heart.
I’m having real trouble getting much done since I found this book. This is the first book by Simon Panneton. “Follow (12-year-old) Ellie as she joins a ghost on a swashbuckling, against-all-odds (sci-fi) adventure to reunite long-lost lovers.”
This is not my normal reading choice, but I’m finding it hard to put down. Ellie has my heart. She’s an orphan who has essentially shut down emotionally. Sharing her life as she opens up, surprising herself as much as everyone else how courageous she is in tackling whatever is in the way of her goals, opening her heart as she goes, is a thrilling experience.
I’ve finished about 2/3 of the book and am TRYING not to simply sit in my chair and read until I find out how her story ends…
“Favorite Toy” Shane Dimmick – PumpernickelPress.com for Evergreen
This is a favorite Christmas card I received this year. I absolutely love it. The painting by Shane Dimmick is gorgeous. I wish I could hand you this card right now so you can see and FEEL how special it is. The whole front is “3-D” or “embossed.” The dog stands out from the background. His face stands out even farther. The nose is out more. The stuffed animal snowman stands out from that. You can FEEL his fur. And then the background, mostly white on white, with the dog in really faint beige and the snow man’s arms, hat, and scarf have faint color. The trees and snowflakes, snowman, hills of snow, and dog are all standing out from the background, too. I just can’t say enough, except that I’ll keep the card and put it up on the cork board that hangs on the wall behind my monitors so I can see it all the time.
The artist is Shane Dimmick. I’ll do another post about her and her work other than the Christmas cards. The card company is PumpernickelPress Here are some more of Shane’s Christmas cards –
I haven’t had a chance to check out all the other artists whose work is included in Pumpernickel Press’s offerings, but I’ve bookmarked the site for later. You might be interested in checking it out, too.
I’m feeling pensive this morning, full of memories – swamped by them, actually – making it difficult to get much done yet. We’re having yet another gray day, but it’s already 55 degrees. Yesterday I was able to lop off some weed trees in the back. The loppers are heavy, though, so I can only spend a few minutes working each time. A good friend of mine suggested I get a small, battery-powered chainsaw. This is a great idea, except I’m a bit hesitant because all the weed trees are on a rocky slope and it’s easy to lose my footing. I really don’t want to fall with a chainsaw. So, I think I’ll continue doing what I can with the loppers for the time being, and then see if I can get my husband involved with the larger chainsaw we have. We’ll see.
Yesterday we did another session on cutting evergreen branches that were encroaching on the driveway. We took Amber in the back when we drove down to get our mail and put the trash can in the back of the truck. We stopped on the way back up and let her out so she could play while we worked. We now have the worst of the branches cut off now. Anything more we do is wonderful, but not crucial to our being able to get down – and back up again. (One year it took us two weeks with our chain saw to clear the driveway enough to drive the truck down.)
Amber
Abby
Amber just made me laugh out loud. I heard a “Meow!” and said, “Abby, do you want to go out?” Amber came right over, walked up with her upper half in the chair with me, smiling and snuffling my ear. I told her that I KNEW she hadn’t meowed, and she just smiled more, if possible, trying to get up into the chair with me. I finally got up to let both Amber and Abby out, meeting my husband at the front door, who was there to do the same thing. Well-trained humans!
Today I’m planning to bring a couple of Christmas presents downstairs and get them ready to mail. The post office has said we need to mail even earlier than usual this year in order to be sure our stuff gets to the people we love in time for Christmas. Maybe this will help me get into the spirit of the holidays. I’ll also try to get started with Christmas cards.
A quick shout-out to Carol, a really nice, talented lady I met yesterday online through the blog. We’ve emailed back and forth a couple of times now and have a lot in common. It’s nice to know we’re not alone in our situations, and I look forward to getting to know her better. :0)
Yesterday we lopped off more branches in the driveway as we came up from Lunch Bunch. Later I brought in the deck chairs and tables from the deck to store on the porch for the winter. These two, plus yoga, were my exercise for the day.
I also ‘slow-rolled’ the heavy, tall green planter from the corner – where the wood isn’t as strong as it might be these days – to the middle of that side of the deck. I’m not sure what else I’ll do to get the deck ready for the winter – it’s too cold for pressure washing – and I’ll probably switch to something of higher priority first.
Honda UK
Since we’re going to get rain tomorrow (and several days next week) I may do the 2nd pass with the leaf blower in the front this afternoon. I would like to at least get things to look like a ‘nice scattering of leaves’ rather than ‘Mother Nature dumping on us.’ I would also like to start cutting down weed trees in the back, but that can be done a bit at a time, between bouts of rain.
The last day to order packages of 6 hand-painted Christmas cards is December 10th. Free shipping in the contiguous United States. Please click on the links to be taken to Etsy to order. Remember that the post office is urging us to mail early this year.
It’s quite overcast right now and we might get some rain. I couldn’t be happier about it.
The UCSB Current-UC Santa Barbara
In about an hour I’ll go down to get our mail (if it’s not raining), checking to see if the trash has been picked up. It’s supposed to be picked up on Tuesday. When I left yesterday to get my hair cut, I had to stop and use the trash bag I carry in the truck to pick up the strewn garbage. When I got to town, I called the trash people. The lady said she would create a work order so the trash would be picked up yesterday. I HOPE it was actually picked up. If not, I will call them again with some choice words.
DepositPhotos
I’m on DAY 20 of my daily yoga practice. My husband told me I was “doing a good job” yesterday. I tried to get him to practice with me, but he scoffed at me, eating some Fritos…
everymum
I still don’t know if the Christmas cards I’m trying to paint will turn out reasonably or not, but I look forward to working on them each day.
I’ve been finding a lot of talented people’s work lately. It’s such a joy to discover someone creating breathtaking art in all its forms and be able to share it with you.
I say, “Wonderful Wednesday” because I’m leaving in less than an hour to get a haircut. I look like a dandelion gone to seed right now and saying that I can’t wait to be ‘healed’ is a vast understatement.
It’s going to be hot today (102 degrees F.) with unknown heat index – SURPRISE! – but we might get RAIN tomorrow, so I have hope.
I’m looking forward to playing in my art room this afternoon. The jury is still out on whether the cards I’m trying to paint will be ‘keepers’ or not, but I’m having a great time experimenting with different ideas and techniques. One of the reasons I start making presents and cards for Christmas so early is that what I’m ABLE to do doesn’t match what I would LIKE to do, and so several false starts are inevitably involved.
Our tomatoes are mostly gone now. I have a few that may ripen, so I check the plants every few days for treasure. I will soon pull up the sweet red onions from the garden to start them drying.
I’m on DAY 19 of my yoga. I’m determined to keep on keepin’ on until this practice becomes as ingrained as brushing my teeth in the morning. This practice, I think, is one of the keys to my health, my ability to do what I want without a lot of pain. I want to live a long time so I can continue to annoy my husband. (53 years and counting…)
I hope you have something fun planned for today, or if not – you have a pleasant, happy Wednesday.
I’m waiting until our son is home on MONDAY (whoopeeeee!) to get the big Tupperware tub of Christmas decorations out – plus our tree – but I’m starting to do a bit here and there.
This is the dining area. I have a Christmas wreath with lights, lights wrapped around the rail across the top of the window to the right of this picture, and a few decorations on the divider that goes between the dining area and the kitchen.
This is a present from a dear friend. It’s a combination light that looks mosaic and changes colors as you watch and a diffuser with a nice scent.
This is ceramic. The couple who made it personalized the heart for me. I’ve had this for years and I love it.
This one is made of wood and was also personalized for me by its creators.
Every year I like to showcase the Christmas cards we receive from friends and family. I hang each one on the vertical uprights on our stair railing with yarn. I also add ornaments or other decoration. This year I’m using wooden ‘gingerbread’ ornaments. I bought these from a company last year, stained and then painted them to make them look like gingerbread cookies.
The Christmas cards will make the decoration fuller and fuller as the season progresses. I’ll also add garlands of sparkly stuff!
I’m almost finished with the “Gingerbread Cookies” Custom Christmas cards. Here are “Bird House,” and “Christmas Stocking.”
Here are “Gingerbread Boy” and “Christmas Mitten.”
These are “Christmas Cookie” and “Christmas Bell.”
I’m planning to offer these in packages of the customer’s choice of 8 cards, any combination of 25 available designs. The cards will be personalized as to words desired on the front and message on the inside of the card at no extra charge. The inside has a good amount of room for a short note that could be continued on the back of the card. The back has “Gingerbread Cookies” stamped with individual letters. Each card is signed and dated.
