Day of the Condor

Yesterday, my sweet husband and I went on a Condor watch. We've seen what we thought were California Condors before, but were never sure. About a year ago, we were at a concert in a nearby canyon when I looked above and so high above the cliffs was this giant bird soaring on the evening thermals. I told my husband that I thought it was a condor, but he said it was probably just an eagle. I told him at that height, those wings were just too big to be an eagle's. I came home and researched only to find that Condors are in this area. Then, last spring, we were at Bryce Canyon National Park. There, again, were about a dozen or so of these huge black birds. This time, it was me who doubted my husband when he said those birds were condors. I told him they were probably turkey vultures, LOL. Well, I was wrong. They were condors.

Yesterday, along with about 25 other watchers armed with cameras, tripods, hats, and enthusiasm, we braved the heat to watch for the birds. We saw some soaring on the air currents. It was nice, but they were really high up. We left and went to a little overlook that we often visit to have a picnic. On the way back, we both saw them - huge, black, airborne, and treed! I was so excited! We were about 50 feet from them at the most. One was perched in an old dead tree. Others were flying overhead. Then, all of a sudden, another condor flew down to rest on another of the branches. I managed to snap a photo just as it came in for a landing! It was soooooooooooooo special! There are plenty of life's miracles and this was one of them - something that few people witness. I think we saw about a dozen yesterday. We'll return later this week in the evening to see if we can catch them again. What a thrill!

I've been scrapping and card making. You've heard me whine about making cards before. It just takes me too long to make a card! It can take me hours just to make one. I feel as if it's a waste of time. LOL I love scrapbooking and I love the results. I want to get better at card making. In order to improve, you have to practice, right? I am so into Magnolia stamps. Those little characters are just adorable. I've been watercoloring them rather than use colored pencils or markers.

Well, enough of that jibberish. Here are some layouts I did this month. There are more, which I'll upload later.

The first LO is of DS. My husband and I were at our beach house on the Oregon Coast when DS flew up to spend some time with us. Here you see him at Portland International Airport. What you can't see is that his hair was blue. His dad and I were so impressed - NOT!!! Imagine waiting at the gate for your sweet son, and this blue haired young man comes into the terminal. Parental Shock!

I do think it was worse one year, while in high school, when he flew to Portland from a trip in Europe to join us. It was two summers after 9-11. People were pretty skitterish. Imagine our surprise when he stepped into the terminal wearing a maroon fez! We wanted to die! I was terrified someone would take a shot at him! He has such dark hair and eyes. His face had a beard and mustache. Oh, he looked so Middle Eastern! I wish i had a photo of him in that fez! Hence, the title - Mr. Personality!


Mr. Personality

The next LO is of that same young man on his sixth birthday. It was prior to his birthday party. He was playing around our pool. He looked so sweet! I loved that outfit! In this LO, I used Heidi Swapp Ghost flowers which I outlined in white to make them stand out. Each flower has a rhinestone brad in the center. The colors found in that PP are gorgeous as is the Prism CS used for the circle.


Bloom Where You are Planted

I got clever on this last layout. I love nature photos and this photo was a perfect match for the colors found in the butterfly PP behind the photo. Well, how did I get clever? The white border on the left is the peel off part left behind after removing the sticker portion. (See LO #1) I looked at that and knew I could use it. I ran it through my Xyron and placed adhesive on the back. I got two gorgeous borders from one strip! The white glittered alphas are Thickers. Aren't they special? You can get the items used from 4 Scrappy Sisters. It's their July Petite Kit. I even had more goodies I didn't use in that kit. It's a great buy!


Spring

If you haven't read the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer, please try to find time to read this romance novel. Start with the first book in the trilogy - Twilight. Oh, Edward....*sigh* You know it's bad when you call your husband Edward and ask him to step into the sunlight to see if he sparkles!

One last emotive comment. My husband and I have had such a feeling of loss with the passing of television journalist, Tim Russert. He was such a teddy bear of a man. I was never interested in politics until I started watching his weekly shows. His sense of balance and sweet personality made him so likable. I learned so much from him. State Senator Joe Leiberman referred to Tim as "The Explainer-in-Chief." What a perfect title! I used to think television shows such as "Meet the Press" were for old people. When Mr. Russert began moderating these programs, it became part of our Sunday routine. He will be sorely missed.
Blessings to you, Mr. Russert. We should all live our life with the integrity you displayed in yours.

Thank you for visiting. I am so glad you stopped by. I hope you will return! Have a good one!

Chris

The Heat is On!

Ugh! The air conditioner has been running all week. The dreaded summer is just around the corner! It won't get cool again until early November *sigh.*

Nothing much is new. Our son and daughter-in-law are happy and having fun getting into the Portland (Oregon) frame of mind. They love all the things there is to do there. Vegas, when compared to Portland (or even St. George for that matter) is filled with nothing. Vegas has made it so that kids have nothing to do, and they wonder why kids are getting into trouble. Here, there are so many things for kids and families to do. It is such a joy to be where family activities are important and plentiful!

I've been playing with some new toys. I bought about 30 new stamps to play with! I've made two cards so far. It takes me almost as long to make a card as it does to make a layout. I see a problem in that, LOL!

Here are some of the things I've been working on:



My Joy

For this layout, I wanted to include a few photos to show the action of my two boys on the state at Zion National Park. I tried to make the center strip of photos resemble postage stamps. I chose to use black and white photos so that they wouldn't compete with the colors of the layout. I used Basic Grey's Boxer line for the alpha stickers, element stickers, PPs, buttons, brads, etc. I really love the new lines.



Thank You Card

This is one of my new stamps. I used water colors to color the image and some Stickles for the angle wings. I thought that this was a good way to use up some of the OLD PAPER I just seem to collect and not use.

Here is the last card:



Thank You Card

Once again, I water colored the image. You cannot tell, but there is some depth to the apron. I think the flash washed it out. I just love these little images.

You know, my mom had a huge Hummel collection. Some were the really big ones (over 8 inches). I don't know where they are now, but these little characters just remind me of the Hummels. Each one has a little personality.

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you will return. How do I get you to leave a comment? LOL

Have a good one,

Chris