Another beautiful tag

This one I received a few days ago, but I've not had time to blog about it. It was made by Jane Widman, from New York, who is another friend from the atc-group on yahoo. She was also one of the first people I swapped art with and is a very talented artist. The first atc's I received from her were all individually hand-drawn. Jane has since branched out to try collage. This tag is a lovely example of Jane's gorgeous work. Above are scans of the front and back of the main tag and then below is the sweet little tag tucked into the pocket, which is a little work of art all on it's own. I was a very lucky recipient in this tag swap! Thanks, Jane!

I've not heard yet if the tags I sent out were received. I hope so. I did scan them before mailing, but the scans turned out kind of dark. After showing the beautiful ones I received, I'm kind of hesitant about showing mine, but I will when I get time to post about it. They were Oriental in theme.

Life has been kind of crazy this past week, so that my time off just flew by, not allowing much time at home, much less time to be on the computer. The kids were home this weekend for a little while. My in-laws wanted to have a going away/graduation party for Holly and Chris. Then I went down Sunday evening and stayed until Monday evening to help Holly pack. Emily was off and my MIL went down, too, so the 4 of us were able to get a good bit done. Also, I volunteered to help out with a costume/drama committee at church and we've gotten together a couple of times during this past week. I let them know up front that I don't really sew. I was thinking I'd work on props or do handwork, but I'm proud to say I did sit down at a sewing machine and sew the edges down on a couple of belts. Maybe that will be enough to help me get over my fear of failure and enable me to get my machine out and attempt some art quilting when time allows.

Oh, yes, we also got another doggy during this week. Sorry, no pics yet as my camera batteries were dead and I just got some more yesterday. I had time to take a few pics, but not to get them uploaded to the computer or to post. I wasn't really ready for another pet at this time, but Kerry was. He insisted we go by Pet Depot Saturday to see the pups they had there from the shelter and we drove to the shelter to see the ones there. We ended up going back to the pet store and bringing home Miss Maggie, who posed her way into our hearts and our home. She is a one year old Jack Russell terrier mix who looks like a black/white border collie that started growing and then quit. Her hair is not slick short, but then not as long as a collie's either. Maggie is really sweet, but also a stinker. It's kind of like having a 2 year old in the house again. As soon as you turn your back, she's sneaking around and getting into something. I joked with Holly that this is one way to declutter. So far she's chewed the handle off of a shabby chic basket I had lotions stored in the bedroom and somehow managed to get a beeswax candle off the piano(? how this happened) and chew part of it up. So far no shoes have bit the dust, but a couple of magazines and a bottle of powder have. She is an attention hog so that we are having to really work to make sure Max gets some love, too. I'll be sure to get some pics of her on here when I have time. It is going to be hard to get a good shot of her since she hardly ever stops moving.

Not sure how much posting I'll get done here over the next week. I'm taking off work the next couple of evenings for Chris and Holly's graduation on Saturday. Holly is graduating Magna Cum Laude from the College of Education at the University of Alabama and Chris is getting his degree in Business. We are very proud of both of them! Then after I work off on Wednesday morning, we'll be going back to Tuscaloosa, loading a Uhaul with their stuff, and then leaving early on Thursday headed for Waco, Texas. Chris will be attending seminary there and Holly will hopefully begin her teaching career. They have found an apartment which Holly wants us to help her paint some of the rooms in before we get their stuff moved in. After helping them get settled in as much as possible, we'll be on our way back to Alabama, either on Sunday or Monday. I keep telling them I'm getting to old for this moving business, but they don't seem to be listening!

Lots of momentous events in our lives recently and to look forward to in our future. I feel like I'm on an emotional roller coaster. Most of the time I'm ok, just taking one day at a time, but then sometimes it will feel overwhelming and I'll give in to a little cry. But that's all right, I'm gonna laugh and enjoy the fun parts of the ride, too!