Pokey Peas Challenge for August 2020

grammadee Bad gall bladders HATE cream - ask me how I know ;-)

Thanks justjac ! You're right to not let going back to work overshadow the time you have left. I so so badly want a couple weeks off. I haven't taken 2 weeks together ever I don't think. But I could sure use it!

nylene did they get your Internet figured out? I can do without a lot of things, but not having the Internet drives me bonkers! Keeping my fingers crossed for Cousin Camp!

grammadee your deck dinner sounds wonderful! Peaceful. We've had a cooler summer than usual. Still humid though. I'm really looking forward to Fall.

gramma I haven't gotten to the gallery or sharing thread yet, but I want to say again how gorgeous that wedding album is! It's just gorgeous!

@janessays good for you! Sounds like you have a plan of attack that's working! I need one too lol.

kitbop how are things going for you at work? Are you still super busy too? I know I'm looking forward to cooler weather but I hope it stays summer in Canada for you!

LisaDV thinking of you! I miss you around here! 

sorry I've not been posting - my motivation is awol, my mood is blah...and there's nothing to share

Happy Friday! It is HOT out here so I am staying in and keeping cool! I hope you all are well today. My new YT video is up. It is Part 2 of my 6 favorite quarantine craft supplies. I got a lot of views on part 1 and happy so many enjoyed it. I am so glad to get it all edited and published today so I can relax and play over the weekend. Link Here

I am working on another mini album and playing with my newer supplies.

nylene- You and your internet OK? I am praying it all works out for "Cousin's Camp."

linda- Hang in there!!!!

grammadee- Happy Early Anniversary!!!! How many years is it? I hope you all have a restful time. Also, glad your dinner party turned out fine. Take care, Dee!

grammadee - enjoy your time away!

kellyr21 - another video - you are doing an awesome job and I'm glad more people are seeing your work!

nylene - fingers crossed for cousin camp! Our home isn't on the market which is a blessing - we'll sell it if and when we buy a new one. I have no plans to live in a house that's on the market - not with kids and cats and all our stuff.

So I decided to go with the photo that included us on the calendar page.

August 2021 by Gramma Dee, on Flickr

I have lots of splashy photos, and I want to play with splashing mixed media on some pages so I can use those on at least a double page spread for my summer album.

I chose to play with the birthday photos first b/c the kit I picked up yesterday had a cool diecut I thought would work perfectly with the feature photo. Pulled out my trusty Cocoa Vanilla Boys Rule and Legendary, and my TH oxides, so these pages went together really quickly

It's my CELEBRATE! by Gramma Dee, on Flickr

I loved how he called Sunday his "CELEBRATE" b/c he knew it wasn't REALLY his birthday for a few days. But he was excited to have us there for the day, too, and happy to share the birthday excitement with us!

Linda I'm sorry things aren't going well. I haven't done much outside of work, so nothing to share either. I hope the house hunting turns up something you love soon.

grammadee Happy Anniversary! I just LOVE that photo of the 4 of you! It would have been my vote for the calendar. And that puppy is soooo cute! I love dogs.

nylene I can't wait to see your pages about cousins camp!! It's my favorite thing you scrap! I'm go glad you got to see everyone even though there couldn't be hugs. I've talked with mom on hangouts a few times over the past months and it makes a big difference. I miss your Alex stories though, so I hope we can back to more normal soon.

I'm still working a lot of overtime and we still have part of my department out in the shop building hitches. The backlog of orders is huge. This has been the biggest year for the RV industry since the crash in 2008. And while it is tiring, I hope this trend holds. Well it could back down a little bit, so that it's not so overwhelming lol.

Rudy and I had a sleep over last Friday night. I puttered around with my scrap stuff while he was hanging out playing on the tablet. Then we had a movie (Frosty) and he ate popcorn and drank hot cocoa until his belly hurt lol. It was one of the best nights with him. His parents opted to homeschool him this year, waiting for things to hopefully be better next year. He's been doing school work all summer though. They tried to keep his routine as close as possible to the one he had at preschool.

I hope you all are having a great week! Looks like it's time for me to think about going to work already lol.

I'm so far behind on commenting...I did scroll back and read and admire the layouts, cards and photos grammadee and nylene

I had a dr appt this week - had some pre-cancer frozen off my back and blood work (results are in - I need to work on eating better) and the doctor added an anti-depressant to my med cocktail so hopefully that'll help also.

We did a drive-thru orientation for DD13 at the middle school today - picked up the welcome packet, her schedule (she didn't get her first choice electives but is thankfully not too upset), and her books/log-in codes for virtual schooling. Her Civics teacher from last year had popped a small gift and note in her book bag - it was a NASA cup. The teacher had had a NASA friend come in and speak with the class last year and DD is ALL about NASA and space and wore her NASA shirt that day and had lots of questions. Apparently the friend had given the teacher the cup and the teacher had planned to give it to DD at the end of school but of course we went virtual after spring break. So she put it in her book bag with an encouraging note and that explanation. DD was thrilled!

Both girls start classes on Monday - I have one table set up in the family room backing on to my computer desk (for DD13) and one table set up in the spare room (for DD20). They both do better when they have a designated school space away from the fun desk. And DD20 learnt in the spring that she needs less distractions and the dining room table wasn't ideal for her (hence she has a spot with a door she can close). DD13 I still like to keep an eye on.

Hi to all

Good Friday morning, Pokeys. I am hoping to play with paper today. Yesterday we turned 15 gallons of beets and a bunch of other veggies into a "canner" full of borscht, plus 33 pints of beet pickles. We had some of the soup--along with some of my dsil's homemade buns--for supper and it was delicious.

This weekend, I will be spending alot of time on line with the Scrap Smarter Experience. Lots of different classes and activities. Not sure if I will get anything accomplished, but I hope to at least try some of the techniques. And then if I need further help when finishing pages or cards later, there is a replay option for the step-by-seps.

I hope your new meds help, Linda. So hard to tell if feeling down and unmotivated has an internal or external source. Being cooped up at home with people everywhere you look, not being able to do the things you enjoy doing when you want to do them, worrying about everyone and trying to keep a family safe are all triggers for anxiety and depression. Plus you are still going through the first year after losing your mum. No wonder you are feeling down. Another big trigger for my dd is not having a clear path ahead of her, and I can see that playing out with your house hunting and having a potential move on the horizon. I really hope that works out soon and you can feel settled again.

I can hardly wait to see your cousin camp pages, nylene! So glad the kids had a blast and want to do this again! You creative, resilient grandparents have some very creative resilient grandkids! So happy that Alex is settled into school so much more happily this year. Another one of my dgk's had a teacher like that last year as well--why do people with no imagination teach grade ones? I think what saved the whole experience for him was the fact that the rest of the staff in the school really loved him, and made that very clear to him, welcoming him when he arrived, smiling whenever they saw him. Hoping that when he goes back in a couple of weeks that he will have a teacher that "gets" him.

gramma I hope you are safe up there in northern California! Some days it really feels like we are living in biblical times. Makes me want to run out and buy locust netting and a boat!

janesays I love those times when everything goes together and pages just seem to fly into my books. Don't experience those times very often, but I love when they happen. Can you show us some of your pages? Would love to see. I don't do much pocket scrapbooking, but enjoy seeing what others do. There is a new thread on the General Scrapbooking board about getting back into scrapbooking, and the pea was looking for ideas of where to start gathering ideas for pocket pages, so I am thinking that will become a great place to share ideas and learn new ones!

Hang in there through the heat, kellyr21 and nylene. I can't even imagine those temps. It is cool and raining here this morning.

LisaDV, I hope you have time to check in. I miss hearing from you. Hope you are all okay.

Happy Friday! nylene, we are good here! No fires near by just the heat wave. I finished my new video and some layouts this week. I also, finished a mini album earlier this week and a card. Whew! I will share it all here and on the video.

gramma- Glad you are ok with this fires!

grammadee- Wow, that is alot of beets! LOL! So glad you have been able to have fun family gatherings. I am looking forward to those times with our local family.

nylene- So happy your internet is stable now.

janesays- Waving hello to ya!

linda- Hang in there babe! I hope you feel better soon!

joyfulnana- Your job has been so busy. I know that is good but draining. Take care of you and hope you get some rest this weekend.

Wishing you all a great rest of the day!

Ah Linda, I feel ya. I've struggled with anxiety before, but never this - well, depressed! - feeling. If I have a TASK I can get it done. But there is not much joy in it. We just came back from camping and it was a successful trip. But for me, it lacked that "bright" feeling. I'm watching more netflix etc. than ever before because it's easy. I have barely been scrapping. Everything feels heavy and effortful, even good stuff. I have a ton of support and can focus on being grateful, and I'm sure I will get through this. I try to look at the small accomplishments and ignore the big picture. But I hate being this way! I'm sorry the house hunt has been unsuccessful so far.

kellyr21 and gramma - thinking of you in the fire-y West. There are fires near my MIL too - she's straight north from you, near the border with the US, in BC. Same arid climate...just chillier in the winter gramma - I finally got my envelope from you!!! Thank you so much - they will get used for sure!!!

grammadee - enjoy your scrap event! Wish I could be there. The Ninja fit gym sounds like a really fun/effective environment for elementary kids. Especially if this extends into the winter! My garden has been a bit of a bust. We got 3 zucchini before some weird yellow beetle killed the plants. My tomatoes are just starting to ripen, and the cucumbers have been too dry while we were away so they aren't happy with me. I've never tried beets - we're not beety people How many years have you been married? Our 25th was Aug. 19. We did NOTHING. No presents, no cards. No dinner out. (we had just got home from camping that day and were a wee bit tired). In theory, we're going to celebrate "later".

nylene - bad teachers. Sometimes they happen in a pivotal/crucial year and can just RUIN a kid! Why teach if you are like that??? My youngest, age 4, junior kindergarten: sent home from school for pretending to be a tiger under a table and roared at the teacher and pretended - PRETENDED - to lunge at her leg. Age 4. Sent home in disgrace. For pretending. to be a tiger. God forbid.

joyfulnana - if my kids were little, I would opt to homeschool (if possible) as well. I'm pretty sure I can't teach my DD her grade 12 physics, chemistry and math however She'll be in school half-time, and online half-time, so decrease the school population. Sounds OK to me. But who really knows??? Linda - we need to get her a better school space organized because she too struggles with distractions.