~Farewell, Fawnie...Til We Meet Again~

Dear Dad, Take good care of my puppies. You now have both of them with you in heaven. Fawnie was so sick. I know that now, he is running through the green fields, ears flying in the wind, with Coconut.

Remember when Tommy saved his birthday money to buy him?? He loved that puppy. sigh.

We are taking time to mourn his loss. He was such good company to me this last year without Coconut. He was always right by my side while I worked. He hated the 'pounding' when I hammered the silver jewelry, though! Maybe Jim will come home from work one nite and meet a new puppy. We'll see!

Katie came yesterday and spent the afternoon with me. It helped a lot. She's a smart cookie for a little Amish girl!!!

For now, I will spend more time with Mom, and take some time to do some traveling. It's the first time in 36 years that I'm not responsible for anyone else: first the boys, then the dogs, then you and mom, then just mom, then one dog....now? I don't like this feeling.

Mom's alzheimer's is still the same: she knows who we are, feeds herself with a little help, can't walk or stand, and still only speaks an occasional word or two. But I know you already know that.
Aunt Grace is there with her, too. She's not doing well, either. They eat all their meals together. It's heartwarming to watch. Who knew they'd both end up there together!

I bet you're golfing everyday. And still rooting for the Browns, and as you used to say, "How 'bout them Indians?"!!!

I miss you horribly, Dad.

xoxoxoxoxox To Heaven and Back~

Your Loving Daughter~xoxoxoxox

~February Blessings~

It was such a blessing to be able to take January for some much-needed R&R. Sleeping in.....reading books and magazines I've longingly gazed at over the past few months....weekends in the kitchen cooking and baking with Jim.....cozy nites by the fire......watching movies......time with our children and grandchildren. All blessings I cherish more and more as the years fly by.

Among those blessings are my appreciation of the strides modern medicine's taken over the past few decades. My doctor sent me for a CAT scan to try and determine why I had such a hard time fighting off the pneumonia and bronchitis that invaded my body from October to the end of December. (couldn't have had anything to do with working 16 hr. days filling orders, now, could it??) Everything was normal there. However....they saw a mass near my pancreas. An MRI and several ultra-sounds later, it was determined I have a splenal aneurysm that my body miraculously calcified. It re-routed the blood to different arteries, in essence, saving my life! You can imagine how many prayers and rosaries I said over the past 6 weeks. I want to thank everyone who was said some 'heavy duty' prayers for a good outcome. As I've said many times before....prayers DO work!

And now it's back to life as I know it. RoseCreekCottage Studio is humming away. I'm busy filling Valentine's Day orders, re-organizing studio space, and creating new designs for 2011. My Heirloom Collection of hand stamped sterling jewelry has grown much faster than I had imagined, and I'm busy trying to figure out how to continue its growth this year, along with freeing some of my personal time so I can spend it by the sea...and with my grandbabies!!

With coffee in hand.....I'm off to the studio...which is one of my favorite places on earth~
Have a beautiful day, wherever you are in the world~

~Happy New Year~

~Happy New Year from all of us here at RoseCreekCottage~

~Merry Christmas~

~Christmas Blessings to all our dear friends near and far from all of us here at RoseCreekCottage~

Photos: Our newest grand-daughter, Emilia Bay 8 mos.

~Filling Orders and Dreaming of A White Christmas~

Well....I finally had to cut off orders for hand stamped jewelry for Christmas delivery as of tonite! I'll be busy the next few days, and much to my husband's chagrin....he requested that I stop. Now. So that we can concentrate on Christmas. He's usually right. Well...he's always right. This time, for sure. So....I hope to be finished with these 14-hour-days by Friday....shipping the last of the orders on Saturday. And then....let the Christmas Rumpus begin~

~RoseCreekCottage Etsy Shop on Hold Temporarily~

My Etsy shop is temporarily closed while we catch up on orders so there are no disappointed customers this Christmas~

We're expecting quite a winter storm this evening and into tomorrow. We're out in the country, and if we lose power, there will be no electricity, ie. no water, internet, printer. I just printed out over 70 labels for the next batch of orders to go out. I'm praying that doesn't happen~

~It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas...and Be Careful What You Pray For~

I know I know....I've neglected my blog lately. I have lots of friends and customers who have reminded me of that. Update: We're deluged with orders and working 12-14 hour days to fill them all. AND I have pneumonia again. My dr. tells me when I had it back in October I didn't rest enough and never totally got rid of it. He tried to make me promise I'd rest. I couldn't do that. Or I would have had to lie.

I prayed for this 'deluge'. Yup. All my fault. God listened. And now....I'm praying for elves. For about the tenth year-in-a-row. They haven't shown up yet....but 3 earthbound spirit ghosts did. In my studio. Not only did I hear them....but so did my son....in two unrelated incidents. They have now been 'crossed over' into the light by the ghostbuster lady who was the consultant for the infamous "Ghost Whisperer" series that starred Jennifer Love Hewitt. I know they are now where they should be...hopefully in heaven with Our Lord. Thank you, Mary Ann.

Whether or not you believe in them, I found out WAY too much that could NOT have been found on the internet.....or in records. I have the entire courthouse in my county believing, too.

The story, in its entirety, will be for a later date~

I hope you are having a blessed Christmas month. I know we are, here at RoseCreekCottage~

p.s. Thank you, too, my blogger friend, Crystal, who lives in a haunted farmhouse in Northumberland, UK, for reaffirming what I already knew~xoxoxoxoxox