Hello again...

It's been almost a week since I last posted and I miss the routine of writing and connecting with you.

This has been a week of emotional highs and lows and right now, I am just honestly feeling worn out.  Vern and I attended a friend's memorial service this morning.  He entered our lives as a business associate about 16 years ago and became a friend in the process.  The news of his death was shocking (43 years old) and the circumstances around his passing left us stunned.  I can only say that his life was very impactful with so many people and he will be missed.

  I think that God often balances events in our lives so that we have good things to offset the bad and that has certainly been the case this week. 

On a high note, Vern and Ashley competed in their first 50 mile endurance ride this past weekend and both finished the ride with sound horses and well within the time limit.  I am truly proud of both of them...not only because of this accomplishment but also because of the incredible discipline they have shown by conditioning their horses on a regular basis...even in the Arizona summer.  It was not unusual for them to be heading out to ride at 4:30 in the morning because it was "cooler"...I guess that's all relative, isn't it?

These photos were taken by Laura Bovee, ride photographer, and if you check in the gallery, some pix were actually taken by her 10 year old daughter, Hailey.  Hailey has a great eye for her subject matter...it would be interesting to see if she ends up as a photographer in her adult years.  Photos were posted with Laura's permission...thank you, Laura!

The ride was held in Wickenburg, AZ, a couple of hours from our house and thankfully, the rain that had originally been predicted for Saturday (the day of the ride) held off until Sunday.  Even the wet clothes, horse blankets and other gear couldn't dampen the spirits of these two...so awesome.

Endurance people have a saying that to complete a ride is to win...so I have to say congrats to my two winners!

Another high note of the week was my spinner class at Scrapbooks, Etc.  It was truly an amazing class with an amazing group of women...what was so cool was seeing faces I hadn't seen in years...some from the days when I taught at Memory Lane, some from Ink It days and some from the year I taught at Creative Escape.  It was so inspiring for me to watch them play...they are a creative, caring and sharing group and they truly blessed my life yesterday.  Thanks girls...you are special.

I've gotten a lot of emails about February's creatologie kit and when I'm going to put it up...I will have it up for sale on February 5th in my little PayPal storefront...I hope that you will think that it's worth the wait...I'm excited about this as it is a two prong project...building your book, then decorating it.  It's not really a Valentine book so that's why I haven't rushed to post it.  I think I'm still in a recovery mode from the first kit, then the spinner class which involved die cutting over 1500 pieces.  But, hey, I've got some good upper arm muscle tone going on...gotta love that!

Hope you have a great weekend...I'm going to curl up with the new Grisham book tonight and disengage a bit.   Anyone have any big Super Bowl plans this weekend?  Our Valley is crawling filled with visitors and lots of Super Bowl celeb parties excitement...but I will be vegging (i.e., creating!) at home!

Comments

[Bree Ross]

Congrats to your loves! That's so exciting! So sorry about your friend. It seems so much harder when they leave so young. A big hug and prayers for comfort sent your way.

[candie]

I'm so sorry about your loss, you will be in my thoughts and prayers. I can't wait for the next project!...I am working on "my feathered nest" right now and loving every minute of it! thank you!

[Dana Smith]

Received my latest Carol Wingert kit and I love it!!! Can't wait to dig in and create!
Dana

[Mam Karen]

Sorry for your loss. These things are never easy but they do remind us of two things. How blessed we were to have had that person in our lives, and, how precious life is.
I can't think of a better way to treasure life than celebrating V & A's endurance ride. Those horses are gorgeous. What breed are they? It looks like they have protective footgear on. What a good idea.

[pamelajane]

Congrats to Ashley and Vern on such fine finishes in their FIRST 50-miler! Of course, I'm among those looking forward to your next kit. Meanwhile, how's the book? Grisham, whose son was graduating with Risto, spoke at UVA and was dull, dull, dull. Hope he's back in good form.