The Funkie Junkie Challenge #7 Snarky, Sassy, & Silly Summer Fun.... and... Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge... SUMMER FISH!

       Wow. What a summer this has started out to be; definitely challenging, for sure! When I recieved the COVID19 Vaccine shot on April 1st, I went from being ill from side effects for a couple of weeks, to a really bad cold, to more side effects from the 2nd shot (Moderna), and straight into the "new regular" Flu. It's been a couple of weeks since I've had a running fever, but the cough is still there. I ended up on 2 broad-spectrum antibiotics because both my regular Docs couldn't find out where the infection was. The rest of the family also had it and it ran into our family vacation just a little bit. While I was out (flat in bed with fever) an entire 24 hours during our stay in the rental house up in Wisconsin, everyone else just had stomach flu for 24 hours. Yeah, that was a fun day; NOT! We did manage to have a very good time and the best part was when the Grandbabies all got to see wave water for the first time! (But no thanks to COVID19 for cheating us out of our summer family vacation last year, and getting the babies out to see real waves.) So Peanut- at 4- was just as excited as Princess (26 months) and Baby Pecan (19 months), and they had

this Memaw loving how they reacted! Most importantly; Peanut and Princess finally got to meet Baby Pecan!! To say they got along well is a huge understatement; for the most part, we tore through the house chasing each other and just hanging out and having fun together. We did manage to get a toe-dip into the lake and take in the free (yes- FREE! to everyone!) Zoo up there. That was a nice surprise and it was run mostly by volunteers who were doing all kinds of work while we took advantage of the fun. Back home again, it was back to the coughing fits and fevers, and trying to keep up with things. Seems like I had just gotten back out there after finally getting vaxxed, when I ended up back in bed. Some summer- let alone where did spring go?? I haven't even gotten my sailboat out, yet. Just when we got everything caught up and ready to power wash the boats, the hand sprayer broke. Go figure. And then... We REALLY got a surprise..

       Once we got back in Indiana on April 1st, our top priority- besides getting my medical up to date- was to catch all three of our kitties and finally get them spayed/nurtured. Before I headed up to see the Red Wing Kids/Baby Pecan, I cut to the chase (so to speak) and caught the momma Dodger Kitty and while she was SUPER SWEET with Hunni Pi, she bit my hand through and through trying to get away from me. I used a large fishing net and it finally WORKED! Artful Dodger lived up to her name- was the original kitten someone had dropped out here and she'd come to us in August 2020 and adopted us as her own. In October, we did a double take when our ONE Dodger kitty turned out to be a Momma with TWO BABIES about 6 or 7 weeks old. I named them appropriately- knowing only the grey with the beautiful full eyes- was a girl-  after Mookie Betts (& another kitty my Brother had years ago): Smokie, but we call her Mokie. The other, Chase (after Chase Utley... a Tiger white/grey like Momma, refused to be caught, so we had no idea as female or male. So... we got Dodger in to be fully vetted (spayed, all shots, wormed, etc.) only to find out that she was pregnant AGAIN. They had to take

the kittens out and we were on our way to come get our little Dodger girl (she was still only 9 months old herself!) after her surgery schedule. They came out to tell us that 30 minutes before we got there, our little Dodger passed away in recovery. I was heartbroken. I so wanted that little girl to have a REAL home and a GOOD life. So we brought her home to bury her here where she had a HOME. We still had TWO kittens to catch. While I was in Red Wing, the ChiefHubby set out the trap to get each kitty in it, and lucked out (I think GOD did it...you'll see) by getting Chase first and to the Vet's and came home to find Mokie in the cage, too! Sadly, Chase also a girl and also was pregnant but she turned out ok and is now a playful, healthy kitty who is learning to trust us. Mokie, however...she got spayed just fine. And so our life went with the kittens growing well and learning to trust us S L O W L Y.  Until last week. ChiefHubby thought he saw a little tiny black head pop out from under the front porch while washing the car. He didn't think much of it, but the next day, the neighbor came over to say "I think you've got a
couple of kittens under there", and upon our investigation.... THREE. They're about 4 weeks now, and I've worked with them in this past week, all the while knowing that we were going to have to surrender them. I just can't keep doing this. All we can figure out is that Mokie had kittens before she went in to the Vet for her workup. It's a wonder those kittens survived at all. You can read about it on my Facebook post

HERE, Today, we surrendered them to the County Shelter (no kill- all adoptions). Now I have 2 nearly 10 month old sister kittens who really deserve a good life and am crushed because I SO WANT that for the new babies as well. I only wanted ONE cat...and got at least TEN. All because last summer, one selfish, heartless, low life decided to drop out a helpless kitten to find it's own way. I've done all I can: the best I can. Bless my ChiefHubby who not only shelled out bucks for Chase and Mokie to be fully vetted, but also donated for the 3 babies surrendered today. And Bless our Veterinarian, who didn't even charge us for all the care they gave our Artful Dodger.

     Now you see why I haven't had time to create much of anything in my studio- I've been run ragged trying to keep up with other....little creations. But I've found a bit of time (the past 24 hours to be exact) and gotten out this idea that stuck in my head: the man who was swallowed by a whale...WOW! I would think that since it's been proven to be possible to have happen...there's no denying the story of Jonah from The BIBLE. :)  I took that idea and then IT took ME... 

I had several sheets of Red, Tan, and Blue (for old Americana) in Bazzille.

And the room is much easier to clean now that it's pared down...

but it's still decorated for inspiration.

YES: that sand dollar is REAL!! I found it on a walk on the beach back in February-

Emerald Coast, Florida. It's made it all the way home, courtesy of Glossy Accents.

I used the glue to seal the dollar all over- one side at a time- and then used soft

tissue and careful packaging to bring it back. The other shells didn't need any special 

attention, and I am always on the lookout for the pukka shells (they make their own hole-

the ribbed shell most right in the photo).

I ended up NOT using the french fry box (brought back from Red Wing this trip).

I'll save it for another day.

The photo plastic was a gift from one of my Besties. I REfound it during the 

house overhaul a few months ago.

This is what I came up with: SUMMER FISH!

      Yep- swallowed Ollie Octopus; US Flag and all! Carp in Indiana are known to eat ANYTHING.

Ollie Octopus is back: in Tim's newest Distress Oxide Ink: SALVAGED PATINA !!

Ohmygoodness; I can't wait to make a rusty.....whatever!... with this stuff!!!

(You can find Ollie previously HERE .)

The IdeaOlogy Numeral 7 is for JULY.

My ChiefHubby had a fish holder sitting on the back door peg shelf. It gave me the idea for this.

I used a wound key ring and an IdeaOlogy Pen Nib and some Glossy Accents.

The IdeaOlogy Mini Pocket Watch, Key Chain, Spinner, Mini Gear, Long Fastener,

and Date Dial....shows the date to look forward to (my fave holiday): July 4th!

Another use for that Americana paper roll!

And... I had to do something cute on the backside,

so I added my own "little fishies"....

These three are my Little Fishies!!

They loved the waves as much as they love the pool!

The surprise: I can open up the blue cover and it lifts the lid to the photo holder;

changing out the photo whenever I want to!

I didn't see the need to conceal the lid top where it meets the red inside; it was 

going to add too much between the closing, so I just left it. It closes tightly this way.

I'm entering this into the following Challenges:

The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog: Snarky, Sassy, and Silly Summer Fun

Sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique

AND

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge; Red, White, &/or Blue

Sponsored by Simon Says Stamp

Thanks! for dropping by, and a very BIG THANKS!

to all those who have been checking in since I've been AWOL !!!

Crafters are only as good as those folks who are SHARING!!

From ours to yours:

Have a HAPPY JULY FOURTH!

And PLEASE: stay safe around any fireworks!!!

Until next time...

STAY SAFE, &

HAPPY BLOGGING!!!